The PROMESA Board

The suspense about the PROMESA board is over. Here are the members:

• Andrew G. Biggs, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, used to be principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. He specializes in topics like government pensions, Social Security, and retirement. Also a former associate director of the White House National Economic Council, Biggs is an expert in some of the biggest concerns in Puerto Rico’s financial situation.
• Jose B. Carrión III is president of Hub International, an insurance company headquartered in San Juan, and formerly served as Chairman of the Workers Compensation Board, among other Puerto Rico government positions.
• Carlos M. Garcia is now CEO of a private equity firm, and was president of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank from 2009-2011. During that time, he chaired the Fiscal Restructuring and Stabilization Board for Puerto Rico.
• Arthur J. Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the New York University School of Law, was a judge in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. He is known for high-profile bankruptcy cases with companies like Enron and Chrysler.
• José R. González, president and CEO of Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, has also served as president of the Government Development Bank, and was president of both the Puerto Rico Bankers Association and the Securities Industry Association of Puerto Rico.
• Ana J. Matosantos, now a financial consultant, previously served as director of the California Department of Finance and in other finance-related positions in the California government. She was born in Guaynabo.
• David A. Skeel Jr., a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is an expert in bankruptcy. He wrote about Puerto Rico and bankruptcy for the Wall Street Journal.

Governor Alejandro García Padilla will also have a seat on the board, and will be replaced in that position by the new governor to be elected in November.

There have been public protests against the PROMESA board in Puerto Rico, including protests against news organizations for covering PROMESA in a positive light. PROMESA has also been controversial on the U.S. mainland, where some claimed it would be a bailout for Puerto Rico. However, the law and the board represent a chance for change in Puerto Rico.

Realistically, Puerto Rico’s political status is the primary source of the Island’s financial problems, and sustainable economic growth for Puerto Rico will require a lasting solution to the status question. But PROMESA specifically rules that the solutions put forward by the board will not limit Puerto Rico’s status options.