 Posted: Sat 4:34, 30 Nov 2013 Post subject: which must be approved in court |
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| Jefferson County, Ala., approves a refinancing deal
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., June 5 () -- Jefferson County, Ala., officials say they have approved a plan to settle a major portion of the county's debts in the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy.A county commission approved the terms of the deal in a 4-to-1 vote, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The refinancing plan covers $2.4 billion of the county's sewer debt,[url=http://www.tinfoti.com]Christian Louboutin Sale[/url], which totals slightly more than $3 billion, the Times said.The debt was issued to finance repairs to the sewer system to bring it up to federal standards. Payments on the debt jumped as the economy soured in 2008, and the county declared bankruptcy in 2011 with the repairs still incomplete.The refinancing plan calls for creditors to receive $1.84 billion of the $2.4 billion.The most prominent creditor is JPMorgan Chase, which holds $1.22 billion of the sewer debt. The plan calls for JPMorgan Chase to take an $842 million loss on the value of its debt,[url=http://www.tinfoti.com]Christian Louboutin Outlet[/url], which will allow the county to "increase the recovery of other sewer creditors."JPMorgan Chase bankers were tied to a refinancing arrangement put together in 2002 and 2003 that the county and the bank are still fighting over in court. That refinancing deal resulted in prison sentences for several county officials and left county residents bitter because no bankers went to jail and they were stuck with higher sewer bills to cover mistakes made by bankers and county officials, the Times said.The new deal, which must be approved in court, would end the county's legal dispute with JPMorgan Chase.The bank already forfeited $647 million to settle a Securities and Exchange complaint about refinancing improprieties. In addition, the bank paid $75 million to the county as part of the SEC settlement.The $647 million was the total in termination fees the county owed to the bank on the interest rate swaps, a form of bank products known as derivatives. |
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