Puerto Rico’s federally created financial oversight board said on Sunday it has entered into an agreement with bondholders to provide “a framework for a plan of adjustment” to address $35 billion of claims against the bankrupt U.S. territory, Reuters reported. The agreement establishes terms for the restructuring of more than $18 billion of Puerto Rico’s General Obligation (GO) and Public Buildings Authority (PBA) debt, according to the Financial Oversight and Management Board, which filed a form of bankruptcy for the island in 2017 in an effort to restructure about $120 billion of debt and pension obligations. While the deal has the support of creditors holding about $3 billion in GO and PBA claims, it faces opposition from Puerto Rico’s government. The deal will be part of a debt-adjustment plan the oversight board said it expects to file in federal court within 30 days to address Puerto Rico’s pension and other core government debt. The board, which reached a deal with a retirees committee last week over a more than $50 billion of unfunded pension liability, said bondholders and other parties acknowledge that “Puerto Rico’s difficult financial situation requires a meaningful reduction in its debt burden to a sustainable level.”
