Puerto Rico appealed a court ruling that Doral Financial Corp., the holding company for the commonwealth’s second-largest mortgage lender, is entitled to a $229.9 million tax refund from the cash-strapped island’s government, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. The San Juan-based financial firm, which hasn’t posted an annual profit since 2005, won an order requiring Puerto Rico’s Treasury Department to refund the full amount it claimed. Puerto Rico’s credit rankings were dropped to speculative grade in February by the three largest credit-rating companies as concerns rose on whether it can repay $73 billion in debt.
