(Reuters) - Puerto Rico and U.S. officials are discussing the issue of a "superbond" to help restructure the commonwealth's $72 billion debt, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the plan.
The superbond, which will be administered by the U.S. Treasury Department, would be issued to existing Puerto Rico bondholders in exchange for outstanding debt at a negotiated ratio, according to the report.
Under the plan, the U.S treasury would administer an account holding at least some of the island's tax collections, and funds in that account would be used to pay the holders of the superbond, the Journal said.
A superbond would need to clear high political hurdles in Washington and Puerto Rico to become a reality, the Journal reported.
A Treasury spokesman was not immediately available for a comment.