Puerto Rico Debt Oversight Panel Named

— -- President Obama today announced the seven members who will make up the oversight board that is charged with helping right the ship that is Puerto Rico’s debt-laden economy.

The panel is a key component of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the president in June.

The members include:

• Andrew Briggs, who is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute think tank
• Jose Carrión, who is president of HUB International, an insurance firm
• Carlos Garcia, who is CEO of BayBoston Managers a private equity firm
• Arthur Gonzalez, a former judge who is a senior fellow at New York University School of Law
• José González, who is the CEO and president of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York
• Ana Matosantos, who is president of Matosantos Consulting
• David Skeel, a professor of corporate law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School

The board will facilitate the process of reducing the island’s $70 billion in debt by overseeing negotiations between Puerto Rico and its creditors and courts.

The panel is similar to one setup to help Washington, D.C., get its financial house in order in the 1990s.

Alejandro García Padilla, the governor of Puerto Rico, will serve as an eighth, non-voting member.

The first order of business for the new oversight board will be electing a chairman, opening an office and hiring staff, all of which must be done in 30 days.

“In order to be successful, the Financial Oversight and Management Board will need to establish an open process for working with the people and Government of Puerto Rico, and the members will have to work collaboratively to build consensus for their decisions,” Obama said.

“The task ahead for Puerto Rico is not an easy one, but I am confident Puerto Rico is up to the challenge of stabilizing the fiscal situation, restoring growth, and building a better future for all Puerto Ricans.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.