The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is reporting that roughly 400 claims have already been filed against UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico (UBS) and other brokerage firms over the fallout of municipal bonds and bond funds related to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As the U.S. territory’s bonds continue…
Investment firms OppenheimerFunds Inc. and Franklin Templeton (BEN) have filed a lawsuit claiming that Puerto Rico’s new law, which lets certain government agencies restructure their debt, violates the constitution. Lawmakers in Puerto Rico approved the bill last month. Aside from its power agencies, the entities that would be allowed to…
Authorities in the United States are reportedly investigating UBS AG (UBSN) for its actions in Puerto Rico. The criminal fraud investigation comes in the wake of allegations that an ex-UBS broker in Puerto Rico told clients to improperly borrow money to purchase local mutual funds that later sank. The investigation…
Moody’s Investors Service (MCO) and other credit rating agencies are saying that there is a good chance that Doral Financial Corp. (DRL), which is based in Puerto Rico, will default on over $150M muni notes and bonds. Moody’s has downgraded both a note and a bond that was issued by…
According to statistics put together by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the number of securities arbitration cases brought by the self-regulatory agency is on target to exceed last year’s total. A likely contributor to the increase can be attributed to the numerous Puerto Rico municipal bond cases already filed by…
According to The Wall Street Journal, a number of large hedge funds and other nontraditional buyers got involved in Puerto Rico debt last month during the US Territory’s $3.5B bond sale, buying up to 70% of the deal. Brigade Capital Management, Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZM) LLC, Perry Capital LLC, Paulson…
According to Bloomberg, Puerto Rico bonds that were issued this month are now at record low prices after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced that it is looking at transactions involving the new securities. The US territory sold $3.5 billion of general obligation bonds, which is the largest junk bond…
The Senate for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has approved a bill authorizing the sale of at least $3 billion in bonds. The legislation is geared toward assisting the US territory from defaulting on its $70 billion of debt and boost the Government Development Bank’s liquidity. Wall Street investment banks…
In the wake of Puerto Rico’s plans to sell $2 billion of general-obligation debt to try to balance its beleaguered budget, the hedge funds planning to get involved in this latest bond offering are asking the US territory to raise enough funds to last two years. Reportedly, the hedge funds…
Even though Puerto Rico’s debt has been downgraded to “junk” status by the three major ratings agencies (Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings), OppenheimerFunds (OPY) has increased its holding of Puerto Rican debt in two of its municipal bond funds that carry lower risk. The credit raters downgraded the…