Russia makes Eurobond coupon payments in FX

28/5/2022 5:57

        Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD) on Friday successfully paid coupons in foreign currency on two Eurobonds, an NSD representative told Reuters, a move that could mean Russia may have again averted a default.
        
        Russia is on the cusp of a unique kind of debt crisis which investors say would be a first time a major emerging market economy is pushed into a bond default by geopolitics, rather than empty coffers.
        
        The NSD said it paid foreign currency in coupon payouts on Eurobonds maturing in 2026 and 2036 , both of which were due on May 27.
        
        Russia rushed forward two payments on its international debt last Friday in its latest attempt to stave off a default, just days before the U.S. decided not to extend a key waiver allowing transactions on Russian Eurobonds payments in foreign currency.
        
        Russia has faced the prospect of sovereign default since Western capitals imposed sweeping sanctions in the wake of its decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. The country has been all but cut off from the global financial system and has seen roughly half of its $640 billion reserves abroad frozen.