Puerto Rico

The goverment must address expected fiscal challenges or bond payments after 2031 are in jeopardy.

Extreme weather could aggravate growing property insurance pressures on governments.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said she would consider the motion during a scheduled May 22 bankruptcy hearing.

David Brownstein, who helped Jefferson County, Alabama, and Detroit return to market after bankruptcy, has opened a new firm that is advising the Oversight Board on its plan of adjustment for PREPA.

If the appeals court overrules parts of her decision, Judge Swain said she is "capable of adapting and reacting appropriately."

If the appeals court rules for them, the bond parties say, a new plan of adjustment may be needed.

The court is considering whether the original PREPA trust agreement gave bondholders a lien on all revenues, which they argue should extend beyond the debt restructuring, or only on the money the authority deposited in its reserve fund.

While this appeal was rejected, the panel suggested bondholders could immediately file a new motion for relief.

Bond parties say several parts of the original trust agreement support their lien on the authority's revenues.

Board chairman says Juan Sabater will bring valued economic expertise to the panel.

Nelson Pérez Méndez will become the interim Secretary of the Treasury.

The board says the bondholders have no "unsecured claim" and only a lien on a small amount of money held by the authority when it was placed into bankruptcy.

Judge says the issues can be considered at March's confirmation hearing.

A deal to provide more money for defaulted AES bonds is also under way.

Higher income tax collections, mainly from corporations, have contributed to the higher than expected revenue, for the period that began on July 1.

An appeals court is considering the arguments after bondholders lost in the lower court.

SIFMA, which also filed a brief, said the District Court judge's rejection of a bondholder lien on PREPA's revenues "grossly misreads the underlying bond documents."

The suit contends PREPA's fiscal plans and budgets were manipulated to deprive bondholders of their claim on the authority's revenues and depress the value of the bonds.

The experts, hired by bond parties, say the Oversight Board's economic and expense assumptions underlying its plan of adjustment are too pessimistic.

Taxpayers will get refunds in April, if the legislature approves the deal.