Hafa adai everyone,
In this week’s address, the Governor remarks on how smart financial management, coupled with a lot of hard work by the men and women of GovGuam, has paid off with record low interest rate on bond sells and greater savings than anticipated. Money from the bond will help the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority with immediate financial needs.
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Hafa Adai my friends and family,
A few days ago we received some great news. The fiscal team was able to get a low rate on a bond refunding. That got us $45 million to help our island’s only public hospital, the Guam Memorial Hospital, at a record low of 3.32 percent interest.
This means a savings for Guam’s taxpayers of even millions more than originally anticipated.
But it is also indicative of something more. Despite the passage of PROMESA and the financial troubles of Puerto Rico that is casting a shadow on other territories, investors and rating agencies are confident in our government’s fiscal management.
That’s significant. It meant a greater savings for our taxpayers than we initially anticipated, but it also is an acknowledgement of our efforts in these last six years to make smart financial decisions. Taking advantage of market conditions that allows us savings, for example, is illustrates our understanding of the world of finance.
We spoke out against PROMESA. This law was looked on as help for a financially troubled Puerto Rico government and allows it to restructure its debt through a federal oversight board. The same approach could have been extended to Guam. But we said ‘NO’ to this because we wanted to reassure our investors and rating companies that we were responsible enough to pay our debts.
Following the passage of PROMESA, Standard & Poors didn’t change its outlook on Guam. In fact, S&P analyst Paul Dyson said we are doing much better than Puerto Rico. He was quoted in a Bloomberg article as saying:
“It’s the credit fundamentals that speak to the ability of a government to pay its debt in full and on time, not lingering or (waiting for) potential legislation.”
We have focused on making smart decisions and focusing on what is under our control. This means that we have a record that speaks volumes to our level of maturity, and we’re well positioned to do things to help improve services to our people, like helping our only public hospital.
Un dangkalu na si Yu’os ma’ase. Thank you!
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