Jorge Irizarry, president of the development bank, stated that government officials hope to approve the bid by a new unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc by month's end
Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp. received a license to operate in New York on Dec. 28. In addition to Puerto Rico, it also expected to expand into California, Florida, Texas and Illinois, which are among the 10 largest issuers of municipal bonds.
Bond insurance is important for Puerto Rico because the commonwealth's general obligation debt is rated "Baa3" by Moody's Investors Service, a notch above junk.
Insurance would allow Puerto Rico to reduce the perceived risk of owning its debt and cut borrowing costs because Buffett's insurer is expected to get the top "triple-A" rating.