债券持有人集团拥有$ 17.3B的波多黎各债务提出债务重组计划

The Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation (COFINA) has submitted a plan to restructure the financially beleaguered island’s debt. COFINA, which is comprised of investors who possess debt backed by sales-tax revenues, has issued $17.3 billion in Puerto Rico debt-$7.5 billion in senior debt and $9.7 billion in second lien debt.

COFINA’s proposal is in response to another plan submitted by the island’s development bank earlier this month. With its proposed plan, COFINA is asking Puerto Rico to suspend repayments to members of the bondholder group until 2018, when payments would steadily grow to at least $600 million by 2021.

In exchange for the delayed payment, the bondholders are asking for the preservation of the notes’ tax-backed guarantee. Already, COFINA’s payments due this fiscal year have been put aside with its bond trustee.

The bondholder’s group includes creditors such as Whitebox Advisors, Metropolitan Life Insurance and Golden Tree Asset Management. The bondholder group believes that delaying repayments for two years should give the island time to recover financially.

Puerto Rico’s debt exchange proposal involves the offer to exchange existing bonds for two new kinds of securities to help the island achieve debt relief. The two debt classes would also delay payments, with one to pay a 5% interest at some point while the other would hold a value to be determined by the Commonwealth’s financial health. A source toldThe Wall Street Journal该债券持有人将根据其股份的法律优先事项提供第一类债务。为了弥补该数字及其债券的面值之间的差异，投资者将获得足够的第二类债务来弥补这一差异。

Interest payments for the first class would start in 2018 with a 5% rise in 2012. Principal would be due in five years. Second class payments could start in 10 years, with creditors getting up to 25% yearly of commonwealth revenue exceeding present projections.

总的来说，波多黎各试图重组约700亿美元的市政债券，这是它欠多少债务。它的政府要求美国立法者授予英联邦建立债务损害权的能力。

上周，该岛宣布，根据新的估计，波多黎各的票据比未来五年偿还债务所需的金额约为160亿美元。The territory’s debt crisis is taking a toll on the island’s residents, with utility bills at three times the price of electricity and water bills compared to on the mainland, the country’s highest sales tax, a 45% poverty rate, and a 12.2% unemployment rate. According toVice News,在那里的财务和经济困难之后，每年约有84,000人离开该岛。美国国会议员预计该领土的债务将在未来五年内再增加270亿美元。

在波多黎各和美国大陆，我们的波多黎各Muni债券欺诈律师正在与投资者合作，通过投资于由他们出售给他们的债券而带来的损失UBS Puerto Rico (UBS), Banco Santander (SAN), Banco Popular, and other brokerage firms. Many investors have sustained significant losses for buying these risky investments.

接触Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLPtoday.

Puerto Rico Bondholders Put Forward Their Own Restructuring Plan, WSJ, February 10, 2016