Muni Minute: Default Day for Puerto Rico

In the latest installment of Muni Minute – The Bond Buyer's 60-second video series that examines a top municipal market story that will impact the coming week – we take a look at Puerto Rico’s escalating debt crisis, with the territory expected to default Monday on a $422 million payment for its Government Development Bank.

VOICE OVER: It's D day for Puerto Rico. The fourth day that is. Puerto Rico has $470 million of public sector debt due on Monday, with 423 million due from the government development bank. Well, there are negotiations on some GDP debt that may lead to debt exchanges before the end of the day, the governor has said Puerto Rico cannot pay all of it. Moody's has said the Island may not be able to pay some of the smaller debts payments that are due.

In the aftermath of the default, there maybe new lawsuits against the GDP and other Puerto Rico entities. The defaults may also light a fire onto members of congress who have been slow to move a they consider what to do about the Commonwealth debt problem. Puerto Rico's next big scheduled debt payment is on July 1st, where $1.9 billion is due. Stay tuned for new developments. I'm Chip Barnnet. This is has been your Muni minute.