Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor

Portfolio > Mutual Funds > Bond Funds

Puerto Rico General-Obligation Bonds Rise as Default Averted

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Puerto Rico’s general-obligation bonds rallied, with some yields falling to the lowest since July, after officials said the commonwealth would pay all that it owed on the constitutionally protected debt while missing payments on other securities.

The island’s benchmark general obligations issued in March 2014 with an 8% coupon traded Monday at an average 73.6 cents on the dollar, to yield 11.4%. It’s the highest price since Dec. 11. The yield on securities due in July 2041, the second-most-traded Puerto Rico obligations of the day, touched 9.3%, the lowest since July.

Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said last week that the island would default on $37 million of the almost $1 billion in bond payments due Jan. 1 and divert revenue to make others. It will fail to pay on $35.9 million of non- commonwealth guaranteed Puerto Rico Infrastructure Financing Authority debt and $1.4 million of Public Finance Corp. bonds. 

By contrast, the commonwealth’s constitution guarantees payment on general obligations before anything else.

“Puerto Rico opted for a default that would send a message about the need for Chapter 9 and the potential for a humanitarian crisis on the island without triggering a wave of litigation,” Mark Palmer, a managing director at BTIG LLC who analyzes Puerto Rico and municipal bond insurers, wrote Monday in a report. He said he expects insurers’ losses on commonwealth debt will be less than some predictions.

Puerto Rico owes $331 million in interest payments across its various securities in February, data compiled by Bloomberg show. It’s the largest bill until $432 million in May. The payments swell to almost $2 billion in July, when some general obligations mature.

–With assistance from Michelle Kaske.

— Check out Can Muni Bonds Outperform Again in 2016? on ThinkAdvisor.


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.