UBS AG was ordered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to buy back an investor's Puerto Rico bond fund for $1 million. A San Juan FINRA arbitration panel found two UBS units liable to the 66+ year-old investor whose losses were $737,000 only four years after he opened his account in 2011. This FINRA […]

Last week Puerto Rico passed a restructuring law that caused an immediate downgrade to it's debt from all three of the major rating services. Moody's Investors Service cut the Puerto Rican bonds three notches from a Ba2 to a B2. This leaves the bonds five notches below investment grade. The bonds which are backed by […]

The struggling Puerto Rican municipal bond market is forcing the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) to hire more arbitrators in Puerto Rico, after they were swamped with over 200 investor lawsuits. After Detroit filed bankruptcy last summer, Puerto Rico's municipal bond market has been struggling. Investors are afraid of Puerto Rico's municipal debt of […]

Puerto Rico used to be known as a tax haven for investors. However, Puerto Rico is experiencing huge financial problems that could easily cost American investors a large portion of their investments, particularly if the island goes bankrupt. Puerto Rico went through an over-borrowing spree in the past few decades. This small island managed to […]

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UBS AG released its third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday. UBS took a $20 million trading loss and $21 million in credit losses all related to loans that were backed by Puerto Rican municipal securities and related funds. UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico, (UBS PR) is the subject of arbitration by investors who say […]

The $125 million Oppenheimer Rochester Virginia Municipal Bond Fund (ORVAX) is down more than 15% this year, because of it contains 33% of Puerto Rican bonds, which have underperformed the broad municipal bond market. The S&P Municipal Bond Puerto Rico Index was down 21% year-to-date through Oct. 10, 1,900 basis points worse than the S&P […]

The $125 million Oppenheimer Rochester Virginia Municipal Bond Fund (ORVAX) is down more than 15% this year, because of it contains 33% of Puerto Rican bonds, which have underperformed the broad municipal bond market. The S&P Municipal Bond Puerto Rico Index was down 21% year-to-date through Oct. 10, 1,900 basis points worse than the S&P […]

It was recently reported in the New York Times that UBS Puerto Rico is now investigating it's own brokers over the sales of leveraged bond funds. One such fund is the Tax Free Puerto Rico Fund II which has a leverage ratio of fifty-three percent. Recently, one broker was put on administrative leave for the […]