Governor de Jongh: $399 Million Matching Fund Revenue Bonds Sold Successfully;
Funds Will Support Government Operations

On Thursday evening, the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority announced the successful sale of its $399 million Matching Fund Revenue Bonds, Series 2010. The bonds were sold to provide working capital to support governmental operations during the current and next fiscal years, as well as to pay down outstanding credit lines that have supported governmental operations during the current economic recession. The bonds were sold by a banking team led by Jefferies & Co. and Citigroup Global Markets at an interest cost of 5.15%. 

The bond pricing attracted a wide range of interest across the institutional investor community, as demonstrated by over $1.1 billion of orders for the bonds. The broad demand for the bonds and favorable market conditions allowed the Government to achieve the lowest overall interest cost on its long-term debt in recent years.

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr., who serves as Chairman of the PFA board, expressed his gratitude for the successful transaction and the low funding cost. “This sale was tremendously important for the government, and for our entire community. We have and remain committed to keeping our people working, and to maintaining a vibrant local economy during these extraordinary and difficult times. “I feel the pain of all of those who have lost jobs and fear for the future, and that is why we must lead, and use every tool available to us to keep moving forward, to keeping our people at work, and on the job. And I greatly appreciate the support shown to us today from across the investment community. Through that support, we have been able to continue to avoid the layoffs and furloughs of government employees that we have seen in states across the country. I hope all across our Virgin Islands will appreciate that today, through this hard work, thousands of our government workers will not go home, and that we as a community refuse to succumb to the economic pressures around us,” de Jongh said.

Public Finance Authority Executive Director and Finance Commissioner Angel Dawson also praised the sale. “Each time we go to market, we are expanding our investor base, and bringing in new stakeholders and supporters that are choosing to support our efforts. And our efforts to earn their confidence are unflagging. Each month, we are achieving new milestones, improving our financial management practices. Even as the economic downturn has hurt our revenues, we are improving our financial systems, we are improving the quality of our financial information, and we are becoming more timely in our financial reporting. This way, even in the face of bad economic news across our country, we are doing things better every day.”

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