The Governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, is warning that Puerto Rico won't be able to pay its $72 billion public debt. There have been international economists who recently released a critical report on the Puerto Rican economy. Puerto Rican bonds were very popular with investors because they were tax-free, but hedge funds and […]

On Friday, April 24, 2015, the credit-rating agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), downgraded Puerto Rico’s general-obligation bonds further into "junk" level territory from a B rating down to a CCC+ grade, making it even more difficult for the financially distressed island to borrow money and dig out from its severe financial problems. This grading means […]

Oriental Financial Services Corp. (CRD #29753, San Juan, Puerto Rico) was censured, fined $245,000 and must submit to FINRA a proposed methodology of how it will identify, review and remediate unsuitably concentrated Puerto Rico (PR) securities purchases. At a minimum, the methodology must include Oriental Financial Services Corp’s review of customers’ concentrated PR securities purchases […]

In a recent Reuters' article, Miguel A. Ferrer, the former chairman of UBS Financial Services Inc of Puerto Rico, a unit of UBS AG, told a meeting of their brokers on June 2, 2011, in San Juan, that they needed to change their mindset or leave. This was according to an audio recording in Spanish […]

On November 3, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sanctioned 13 firms. According to the SEC, these firms violated the rule that is primarily designed to protect retail investors in the municipal securities market. A "minimum denomination" sets the smallest amount of the bonds that a broker/dealer is permitted to sell to a retail […]

Félix “Tito” Trinidad, a Puerto Rican boxing legend, is being pursued by creditors while he files a claim against the financial advisor who invested more than $60 million of his money in Puerto Rican government bonds. Felix Trinidad has filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) claiming that his financial advisor, José “Pepe” Ramos, […]