Puerto Rico Governor García Padilla calls Moody’s rating action unfair

(San Juan, Puerto Rico) – Governor Alejandro García Padilla expressed his disagreement with today’s ratings action issued by Moody’s Investors Service. The ratings action is inconsistent with previous reports made by the credit agency, and its determination is based on inaccuracies. The ratings action comes despiteMoody’s recognition of the achievements made by the García Padilla administration to manage the difficult economic and fiscal situation that the government inherited.

The Governor detailed how since he was sworn in on January 2013, his administration has complied with all of the requirements stipulated in Moody’s reports. “We are in disagreement with the evaluation and conclusions, and have informed them so,” said García Padilla.

In December 2012, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Puerto Rico’s General Obligation bonds to negative outlook. In reports, the agency said that to improve its credit the administration should improve the conditions of the publicretirement system, jump start the economy with new revenue sources for Treasury, control expenses and increase revenues to achieve a balanced budget and eliminate the budget deficit.

"Faced with the situation this administration inherited in January 2013, we immediately took decisive action to address the deficit in the government pension systems by enacting comprehensive pension reform, while the government controlled costs and increased revenues. We paired these critical reform efforts with the establishment of Puerto Rico’s most aggressive economic development strategy in decades that is focused on expanding our manufacturing industry and diversifying our economic model," said García Padilla.

“In the meetings we had with Moody’s a week ago, the agency was able to appreciate our complete and full compliance with the criteria stipulated in its previous reports. We have clearly exceeded with requirements on liquidity, legislative actions and economic and financial performances. Moreover, we informed the credit agencies of our intention to take further decisive action in the upcoming weeks with respect to Puerto Rico’s budget in order to improve our credit for when we return to market. It seems that Moody's Investors Service has departed from its essential role in providing consumers with unbiased analysis and that the agency is concerned with its perception as compared to its competitors,” he added.

García Padilla reiterated that his team will continue to work to promote economic development, expand and diversify the manufacturing industry. He assured that the administration will continue to take the necessary actions to move the country forward and will continue with its plan to successfully rebuild Puerto Rico.