Lahaina: Conspiracy theories booming while Maui municipal bonds are crashing - Who gets to decide what is sustainable and what is not sustainable?

Editor's note: Who is holding (investors) the municipal bonds in Maui as they just tumbled after the destruction of Lahaina? Does BlackRock have an investment interest holding municipal bonds in Maui and Hawaiian Electric Industries? Another way to look at it is who will be holding those municipal bonds after the state takes over Lahaina and rebuilds on some of the most expensive real estate in the world? Were the local economic and financial circumstances on Maui "sustainable? If they weren't sustainable who deicides to make "adjustments" and who was coordinated with to make those "adjustments" to achieve sustainability. Who are the stake holders? Does Hawaii's Governor Green know who the stake holders are?

BlackRock and Hawaii Green Growth – How Local Hawaii Companies are Engaging on Sustainability
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Source: BNN Bloomberg

Hawaiian Electric's Municipal Bonds Tumble Amid Maui Fire Probe

Augist 15, 2023 | Amanda Albright, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Municipal bonds sold for Hawaiian Electric Industries, which operates the utility that serves Maui, have joined the company's stock in plunging amid scrutiny over the company's possible role in the island's deadly wildfire.

On Monday, investment-grade muni bonds that were sold for the company's subsidiary, Hawaiian Electric Co., and are due in 2039 traded at about 65.7 cents on the dollar on average. That compares with above 80 cents in the days before the catastrophe, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Separate muni debt due in 2049 traded as low as about 63 cents on the dollar on Tuesday, down from an average of 71 cents on Monday.

On Tuesday, Hawaiian Electric's long-term rating was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings. The ratings company cited class action lawsuits recently filed against the company and its subsidiaries, which have "increased the risk of a material deterioration in HEI's credit quality" if the plaintiffs prevail.

Read More: Hawaiian Electric Extends Record Slump With Future in Doubt

Hawaiian Electric, has come under criticism for not turning off power despite weather forecasters' warnings that dry, gusty winds could create critical fire conditions. Plaintiffs attorneys are focusing on the utility's equipment as a possible source of ignition. The company's stock extended declines Tuesday. No official cause has been identified for the fire, which has become the deadliest in the US in more than a century.

Hawaiian Electric Co. has about $495 million of muni bonds outstanding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It most recently tapped the muni market in 2019 to refund debt with higher interest rates.

The state's attorney general said Friday that she was opening an investigation into how authorities responded to the wildfires.

Please go to BNN Bloomberg for more.

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