The city of Detroit on Wednesday used $54.4 million in surplus funds to pay off bonds issued when the city exited bankruptcy in 2014 to settle debts with bond insurers on pension-related debt, Crain's Detroit Business reported. Detroit's move to pay off the remaining principal and interest owed on $88 million in 12-year Financial Recovery Bonds will save the city $11.7 million in interest over eight years, said John Hill, chief financial officer for Detroit. The city issued the bonds at the end of 2014 to partly satisfy debts owed to Syncora Guarantee Inc. and Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., two insurance companies that insured $1.4 billion in pension bonds that were wiped out in Detroit's historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy reorganization. In January, the city paid down $15 million in principal on the bonds with the proceeds of sale of the Premier Underground Garage to businessman Dan Gilbert's Bedrock LLC, said John Naglick, chief deputy CFO and city finance director.
