Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in National Catholic Reporter speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Puerto Rico Bankruptcy: Archbishop's Suggestion Becomes Forced Reality

By: Wallace J. de la Vega

"Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, a faith-based organization that focuses on debt relief, called the filing a 'bankruptcy-like' step that was meant to protect Puerto Rico from creditors.

The action, while posing short-term difficulties for Puerto Ricans, will protect vital social services, health care spending and school funding, LeCompte said."

Read more here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Normangee Star speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article. 

Assured, MBIA Sue Puerto Rico Board over Island Fiscal Plan

By: Madeline Patrick

“'This bankruptcy process is vital so Puerto Rico can receive the debt relief it was promised', said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, which promotes debt forgiveness for poor countries." 

Read more here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured on speaking on Puerto Rico. Follow link to full audio clip. 

Puerto Rico Files For Bankruptcy

Listen here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in Le Temps speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Porto Rico se déclare en situation de faillite

By: Staff

«Ce processus de faillite est vital pour que Porto Rico puisse recevoir l’allégement de sa dette qu’on lui a promis», a réagi Eric LeCompte, directeur exécutif de Jubilee USA Network, une organisation spécialisée sur la question de la dette des pays pauvres. Il pourra «ramener la dette à des niveaux soutenables, protéger les habitants les plus vulnérables et promouvoir la transparence», poursuit-il dans un communiqué.

"'This process of bankruptcy is vital for Puerto Rico to receive the debt relief it was promised,' said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, an organization specializing in the issue of countries' debt poor. It will 'bring debt back to sustainable levels, protect the most vulnerable people and promote transparency,' he said in a statement."

Read more here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in AFP, Yahoo News, The Daily Mail, The Japan Times and Manilla Times speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Puerto Rico Seeks Bankruptcy Protection: Governor

By: Staff

"'This bankruptcy process is vital so Puerto Rico can receive the debt relief it was promised,' said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, which promotes debt forgiveness for poor countries.

The 'process can bring the debt back to sustainable levels, protect vulnerable communities and promote transparency,' he added in a statement."

Read more here.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in NPR and Townhall speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Puerto Rico Eyes Options As It Faces Debt Deadline — Again

By: Camila Domonoske

"'It mirrors conventional bankruptcy processes that are ordered and arbitrated through a court system,' says Eric LeCompte, the executive director of Jubilee USA Networks, a religious development organization that supports debt relief and debt forgiveness.

The 'Title III' process, as it's called in PROMESA, allows Puerto Rico to address all of its debts at once, in a comprehensive process — which even Chapter 9 doesn't allow, LeCompte says. It's essentially a bankruptcy process custom-built for Puerto Rico's debt crisis."

Read more here.

By: Natalia Kolbjornsen

Eric LeCompte, Jubilee USA's executive director, wrote a letter to Congress urging them to protect the debt restructuring process created by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (Public Law No 114-187, “PROMESA”).

He has been deeply involved in negotiations, both to enact PROMESA last year, and to implement it. In this letter, LeCompte urges Congress to make sure that any Continuing Resolution or omnibus bill does not weaken Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy protection or existing Title III process. LeCompte and faith leaders on the island stressed the staggering percentage of children that are living in poverty and the need for a bankruptcy process to allow for economic growth and poverty alleviation.

Read Eric LeCompte’s letter to Congressional leadership.

Join Eric and call your representatives to ask them to defend Puerto Rico's bankruptcy access.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently featured in National Catholic Reporter speaking on Puerto Rico. Read excerpt below and follow link to full article.

Puerto Rico's Creditors Push Congress to Stop Bankruptcy Process

By: Michael Sean Winters

"'We've kept Puerto Rico on Congress' agenda, even though Congress is pretty distracted with other issues,' LeCompte told NCR. 'We've been moving forward bipartisan recommendations to provide the same health care financing and child tax benefits to American citizens in Puerto Rico that citizens receive in the 50 states. This is important because we need more financing for Puerto Rico to ensure average people are protected as Puerto Rico restructures its debt.'

'Some of the creditors are back in full force on Capitol Hill, and they are trying to stop the bankruptcy process. There even have been efforts to delay health care and‎ child benefit financing by some of the creditors,' LeCompte added. 'Some of the creditors are desperate because they will profit less with an orderly bankruptcy process that protects interests of the people on the island. As always we see Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle influenced by the powerful creditor lobby. But I still have great hope and know we will win because both Republican and Democratic leadership firmly supports our efforts for the people of Puerto Rico.'"

Read more here.

"The board must immediately vote for the bankruptcy process," stated Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development organization Jubilee USA. LeCompte worked on Puerto Rico debt legislation and testified before the board in November. "If they don't authorize the bankruptcy process predatory creditors could buy debt and endless litigation begins."

The child poverty rate on Puerto Rico is almost 60% and it faces a Medicaid funding gap of $650 million this year. Puerto Rico has a fiscal plan that includes austerity measures.

A statement released Tuesday by Archbishop Roberto González from the Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico and Reverend Heriberto Martínez, the head of the Puerto Rico Bible Society urges the oversight board to move the island into this bankruptcy process.

"We restate our encouragement and support for Puerto Rico's Governor and the oversight board to authorize the Title III bankruptcy process by April 28th before debt lawsuit protections expire," note Archbishop González and Reverend Martínez. "If the oversight board and Governor do not act by April 28th, we fear that Puerto Rico could be held hostage by predatory actors and 'vulture' funds."

Read the statement from Archbishop González and Reverend Martínez' in English, en español

Before May, protections expire that shelter Puerto Rico from debt lawsuits and predatory financial groups popularly known as "vulture" funds. The Catholic Archbishop of San Juan and Puerto Rico's Bible Society head are calling on the island's governor and oversight board to immediately activate a bankruptcy process designed by Congress.

"We restate our encouragement and support for Puerto Rico's Governor and the oversight board to authorize the Title 3 bankruptcy process by April 28th before debt lawsuit protections expire." notes a statement released Tuesday by Archbishop Roberto González from the Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico and Reverend Heriberto Martínez, the head of the Puerto Rico Bible Society. "If the oversight board and Governor do not act by April 28th, we fear that Puerto Rico could be held hostage by predatory actors and 'vulture' funds."

Last summer, Puerto Rico emergency debt crisis legislation was passed by Congress. The legislation included temporary protections from debt lawsuits and a bankruptcy process designed to restructure all of the island's debt.

"The bankruptcy process designed by Congress is a very powerful tool. It is really the only process that has the ability to restructure every dollar of debt," explained Jubilee USA's executive director Eric LeCompte. LeCompte worked on the legislation and advises Puerto Rico's religious leaders. "Puerto Rico's time is almost up and it is the responsibility of the oversight board to now authorize the bankruptcy process."

In November, LeCompte testified to the oversight board and urged them to move forward the Title 3 bankruptcy process if debt negotiations fail. As the May deadline approaches, religious leaders on the island are warning that vulnerable communities can face more suffering if the oversight board and governor fail to act. The Catholic Archbishop and Evangelical leader have consistently raised the alarm on the crisis since the summer of 2015.

"New austerity programs are being forced on our people and we must now receive the debt relief we are promised. It is immoral and unethical for any person or group to attempt to deny our people access to promised debt relief processes," write González and Martínez in their statement. "We continue to hold in prayer everyone who is affected by this crisis whether they are our creditors or our children."

Read the statement from Archbishop González and Reverend Martínez' in English, en español.

Finance Ministers, heads of central banks and government delegations begin the official Spring International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings. ‎Earlier in the week the IMF released two bi-annual reports that raised concerns about global political shifts and possible rollbacks of financial transparency regulations.

"The meetings are overshadowed by concerns that some countries are pulling back from global cooperation and that financial transparency regulations are at risk of repeal," noted Eric LeCompte, who monitors the meetings and is the Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA."I'm concerned because possible roll backs of transparency regulation and renewed debt crises are a recipe for another financial crisis."

LeCompte will moderate a panel during the meetings today called "African Debt Crisis 2.0‎." Countries such as Ghana and Mozambique face renewed crises and several African countries now face famine conditions.‎ Senior IMF and World Bank officials are speaking on the panel including the World Bank's ‎Lead Africa Region Economist, Punam Chuhan-Pole and the IMF's Africa Deputy Divi‎sion Chief, Laure Redifer. Academics and representatives of civil society including Reverend Aniedi Okure and Tirivangani Mutazu also will speak on the panel.

"It is a little ironic that we are so concerned about the repeal of basic transparency protections when we still haven't put in place proper global policies to prevent debt and financial crises," stated LeCompte, who serves on United Nation expert finance groups.‎ "Globally we are still falling short on transparency initiatives and responsible lending and borrowing policies."

Read more about Jubilee USA's panel African Debt Crisis 2.0

Read the April 2017 Global Financial Stability Report

Read International Monetary Fund's April 2017 World Economic Outlook report

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its bi-annual report on global economic stability, warning that the financial system could face serious risks in the year ahead. Ahead of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, the Global Financial Stability Report calls for continued oversight in the financial sector.‎

"The IMF is concerned that some political shifts in wealthy countries could lead to a lack of cooperation in the financial system," noted Eric LeCompte who tracks the IMF reports and is the Executive Director of the religious development coalition Jubilee USA. "It's clear the IMF is concerned with roll backs of transparency regulations and how that will impact global financial stability."

The Global Financial Stability Report points out that rising instability in the developed world will raise risk premiums for developing countries, making public debt more expensive and reducing their ability to handle other external shocks.

"Everyone is becoming more concerned with unsustainable debts in both poor and wealthy countries," stated LeCompte who serves on United Nation finance expert groups.‎ "I'm concerned that high debt burdens and more risky market behavior will lead to another financial crisis."

Yesterday, the IMF released its bi-annual World Economic Outlook report, which also warned about global financial stability risks. The report predicts that global growth will continue at 3.5% through 2017‎. 

Read the April 2017 Global Financial Stability Report

Read International Monetary Fund's April 2017 World Economic Outlook report