At the end of a storm

摘要

PUERTO RICO was never the most financially stable of places. After years of trouble its government defaulted in 2016. Then, in 2017, Hurricane Maria roared in. The island took close to a year to restore electricity fully, and financial restructuring continues. Manufacturers decamped during the power cuts; many did not return. Banco Popular, the biggest financial institution, which had already been buffeted by a wave of bad loans, was hit by another. Its failure would have been no surprise.