Jefferson County hat insgesamt über 4,5 Milliarden Dollar Schulden. S&P und Moody’s hatte die Verpflichtungen der Gemeinde auf „Junk“ runtergestuft, nachdem die Gemeinde in Zahlungsverzug gekommen war.
Das Problem begann, als der Auction Rate Securities Markt zusammen brach. Seitdem konnte sich die Gemeinde nur noch zu sehr viel höheren Zinsen refinanzieren. Doch schon bald ging gar nichts mehr.
Hinzu kam eine Untersuchung der US Börsenaufsicht SEC, die einzelnen Behördenleitern des Kreises Betrug vorwarfen.
In diesem Zusammenhang gibt es staatsanwaltschaftliche Ermittlungen gegen den Anleihen Versicherer Syncora Gurantee und FGIC.
Die Sachlage ist äussert kompliziert. Aber es geht in die Richtung, dass die Behörden von Jefferson County mit Anleihenversicherern und Banken einen „krummen Deal“ gemacht haben, um überhaupt noch an Geld zu gelangen.
Here are some facts about the county's financial and legaltroubles.
* Jefferson County's $3.2 bln of sewer debt (Schulden aus dem Bau für Abwasserkanäle) includes:
- $850 million of variable-rate demand notes
- $2 billion of auction-rate debt
- The remainder is fixed-rate debt
- The variable-rate notes were the subject of aforbearance agreement that expired Friday.
- S&P downgraded the variable rate debt to "D" in Aprilafter the county failed to make a principal payment.
* Lenders and insurers involved in latest negotiations
- Many of variable-rate demand notes are backed by bondinsurer Syncora Guarantee, formerly known as XL Capital
- The notes are now held by liquidity providers includingJPMorgan Chase , Bank of America Corp , Bank ofNova Scotia , Societe Generale, Regions Bank,Bank of New York, State Street Corp and Lloyds.Liquidity providers held the notes once buyers proved scarce.
- Insurance company FGIC guarantees $1.2 billion of thesewer debt.
- Both FGIC and Syncora have been targeted in a sweepingfederal investigation into municipal bond derivatives.
* Jefferson County's total debt oustanding is $4.5 billion
* Problems with auction-rates and swaps
- In March, the county began burning through cash due to aspike in interest rates on its auction-rate debt. According toMoody's Investors Service, the rates reached as high as 6.2percent
- Moody's then cut the bonds to junk.
- The ratings downgrade allowed parties in interest rateswap agreements with the county to end their contracts andcharge termination fees that the system would not be able tocover, Moody's says.
- In most swaps, two parties exchange interest ratepayments, with one paying a fixed rate and the other a floatingrate usually linked to an index.
* The Securities and Exchange Commission charges
- The SEC sued three individuals in April for fraud inconnection to the swaps.
- It alleges Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford took more than$156,000 from William Blount when he was president of thecounty's commission
- In exchange Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish, wasinvolved in all of the county's swap agreements in 2003 and2004, the SEC says.
- Lobbyist Albert LaPierre has been charged as a conduitfor the money.
- The defendants have asked the U.S. District Court for theNorthern District of Alabama to dismiss the case.
* Sewer system rate payers filed a class action lawsuit inJune for disgorgement of the $120 million fees charged for aseries of swaps in 2002 and 2003 against investment banks andbond insurers including J.P. Morgan , Goldman Sachs , Lehman Brothersand Regions Bank .
* Two county commissioners have been convicted of briberyand fraud in connection with sewer repairs, with the countypaying two to three times as much as other Southeastern citiesfor the repairs.
* By March, the average monthly water-sewer bill in thecounty had risen to $94.92.
* In August, the Jefferson County Commission votedunanimously to authorize Alabama's Republican Governor, BobRiley, to lead negotiations with lenders. But the governor hassaid the state will not bail out the county.
Zusatzinfos:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i7NbXMswuwjatkCMoBzvFIZxY0nAD92S6E883
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3SxLBc6T9I8&refer=home
