SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico has completed its first debt-restructuring deal since the government announced it was bankrupt more than three years ago.
The agreement was finalized with creditors holding nearly $4.2 billion in debt issued by the now defunct Government Development Bank. The bank once issued loans and oversaw debt transactions for the U.S. territory.
The government says its Debt Recovery Authority has issued nearly $2.6 billion in bonds to creditors, who will receive $550 of bonds for each $1,000 that they held.
Gov. Ricardo Rossello made the announcement on Thursday.
Puerto Rico agencies still hold roughly $70 billion in public debt and are trying to restructure a portion of it via court and mutual agreements as the island remains mired in a 12-year recession.
