Detroit, Stockton bankruptcies may flag wider problems -Fed's Dudley

Reuters reports:

The municipal bankruptcies in Detroit and Stockton, California, may foretell more widespread problems in the United States than is implied by current bond ratings, a top Federal Reserve official said on Tuesday.

"While these particular bankruptcy filings have captured a considerable amount of attention, and rightly so, they may foreshadow more widespread problems than what might be implied by current bond ratings," New York Fed President William Dudley said at a closed-door workshop on Chapter 9, the part of the U.S. bankruptcy code covering local government insolvencies.

"We need to focus our attention today on addressing the underlying issues before any problems grow to the point where bankruptcy becomes the only viable option," he added, according to a text of his speech.

Dudley, whose Fed district includes the debt-stricken U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, did not mention by name any municipalities or states that risked going the way of Detroit and Stockton. But he highlighted the difficulties some jurisdictions face when they issue debt to finance operating deficits, and when they under-fund public pensions.

In Chicago, for example, unfunded pension liabilities for the city, the board of education and other local governments that draw taxes from it exceed $35 billion, according to the Civic Federation, an independent fiscal watchdog.

Best of luck to all municipalities out there.