Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

$300M loan forgiveness is huge burden lifted off USVI- Gov Bryan

$300M loan forgiveness is huge burden lifted off USVI- Gov Bryan

Governor Albert A. Bryan Jr on Friday, October 1, 2021, told the Consortium that the $300 million community disaster loan forgiveness that recently was approved by Congress relieves the territory of a huge burden while opening the door for opportunities in the bond market.

"The first thing it does, we have an agreement with FEMA that any time we go to borrow any money that we had to gain an approval from them, so that immediately goes away," Mr Bryan said.

Debt write-off allows USVI to borrow


The government also had to give FEMA priority payments, called a priority lien, from the Matching Fund Revenue and Gross Receipt Tax bonds over the Government of the [US] Virgin Islands’ other bondholders.

"What it does now because we're going through some trying times here, if we needed to borrow money it reopens our credit, so we now have the ability to borrow some money should we hit some trying times. And with what's happening with the refinery, as well as the veracity of the storms that's in the Atlantic right now, that's huge too. It also eases the debt burden of WAPA which was a concern to us because that $80 million is now erased from WAPA's debt load. So that's why we've been working on this for two and a half years. It has a lot of impact on the territory," the governor explained.

The forgiveness of the $300 million debt from the Community Disaster Loans comprises financial relief of the following, according to the administration:

*  $94.5 million for WAPA
*  $42 million for Luis Hospital
*  $19.3 million for Schneider Regional Medical center
*  $145 million for the Government of the Virgin Islands

Thanks to the $300 million community disaster loan forgiveness for the US Virgin Islands by the US Congress, the USVI is now able to reoepn its credit.


More debt forgiveness being sought


Mr Bryan said his administration was also seeking forgiveness of SBA loans that individuals took out following the 2017 storms, but that was not included in the Plaskett measure that was part of the continuing resolution bill to keep the U.S. government-funded through December 3, 2021.

Relative to securing funding to stave off collapse of the Government Employees' Retirement System, the governor said, "It takes $300 million off of our viability page," meaning the climate on the bond market is much more favourable for the USVI.

Senators of the 33rd Legislature in December 2020 rejected the governor's debt refinancing deal, with some sticking to their stance that the measure was not in the best interest of the territory; some contending that the refinancing, contrary to what was being said, was not certain to go toward saving G.E.R.S., while others, including Finance Committee Chairman Kurt A. Vialet, contended that the deal — which would have dissolved the territory's $150 million Debt Service Reserve Fund — would affect future generations as it would have deferred payments and place a heavy burden on Virgin Islanders ten years down the road.

The administration has been working with 34th Legislature lawmakers and G.E.R.S. on finding a solution to buttress the pension system.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×