Reports

Oversight That Works

Puerto Rico’s protracted economic depression — and the draconian measures implemented to combat the resulting fiscal imbalances — have eroded the island’s government capacity to perform at all levels and created fertile ground for unscrupulous actors to engage in fraudulent behavior.  Severe austerity programs implemented since 2006 have led to: drastic budget cuts in numerous key agencies, high employee turnover, low morale amongst public servants and limited resources across the board.

CNE Analyzes the New PREPA Restructuring Support Agreement: It is Worse Than You Think

On May 3, 2019, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (“PREPA”), the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (“AAFAF”), and the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (the “FOMB”), executed a “Definitive Restructuring Support Agreement” (the “RSA”), with the members of the Ad Hoc Group of PREPA Bondholders (the “Ad Hoc Group”), and Assured Guaranty Corp. and Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (collectively, “Assured”), for the restructuring of a portion of certain bonds issued by PREPA.

Puerto Rico’s Unfinished Business After Hurricane MarĂ­a

It has been a little over a year since Hurricane María fractured Puerto Rico’s infrastructure and its demographic and economic landscape. Currently, all the critical infrastructure—electricity, water, telecommunications, schools, and hospitals—is functional.

Transforming the Recovery into Locally-led Growth: Federal Contracting in the Post-Disaster Period

In the wake of the devastation resulting from hurricane María, the United States Federal Government mobilized numerous emergency relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Traditionally, Federal disaster response has been thought of as the “silver lining” that stems from a catastrophic event, given the millions of US Government dollars that are pumped into the local economy.

Expediting the Recovery Process: A Proposal to Create a Puerto Rico Development Authority

Puerto Rico is at a critical junction in the disaster recovery process after Hurricane María. Relief efforts, while still ongoing in certain parts of the island, are slowly winding down and soon will give way to recovery activities and the rebuilding of the island. It is, therefore, “a time of desperate loss, yet also a time of distinct possibility.”1

Endeudando al de aquí: los préstamos por depósito diferido en Puerto Rico

En Puerto Rico se está contemplando actualmente legalizar la práctica de otorgar préstamos por depósito diferido, conocida en inglés como “payday lending.” En términos generales, un préstamo por depósito diferido consiste de una transacción crediticia donde un prestamista le ofrece a un consumidor un préstamo a corto plazo a cambio de un cheque personal postdatado con un valor mayor, el cual el prestamista se compromete a no depositar o negociar hasta la fecha de vencimiento del préstamo.

Letter to Fiscal Oversight Board regarding Fiscal Plan

I am writing on behalf of the Center for a New Economy (“CNE”), a Puerto Rico, non-partisan, not-for-profit, independent think tank, to convey our analysis of the Fiscal Plan presented by the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on October 14, 2016 (the “Fiscal Plan”), pursuant to the formal Invitation to Comment issued by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (the “FOB”), which you preside. We thank you and the FOB for this opportunity to present our analysis and comments on the Fiscal Plan.