Creditors approached Puerto Rico’s government with offers surrounding the U.S. territory’s bankruptcy after Hurricane Maria tore through the island last month, but federal aid remains the top priority, a Puerto Rico official said yesterday, Reuters reported. “Any offer we’ll review it, and we’ll discuss it with the oversight board and their advisers,” said Christian Sobrino, Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s official liaison to the federally appointed Financial Oversight and Management Board. No offers by creditors have been put in place and the government has not met with creditor groups on the proposals, Sobrino said, adding that communications remain a challenge on the island. Creditors of Puerto Rico’s bankrupt power utility PREPA already offered a $1 billion loan and a discount on existing debt last week after Maria knocked out power to Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents, but the government shut down the proposal, calling it a “publicity stunt.”
