Russia will be able to place Eurobonds (bonds denominated in a foreign state for a given currency), even if Western banks will not be allowed to participate in this procedure. This opinion is shared by the head of VTB Andrey Kostin, passed on Thursday, March 24, TASS reported.
Kostin also said that VTB has applied to participate in the organization of accommodation. “Yes, we have already applied to participate as an organizer”, he replied to the question.
On March 23, the newspaper the Wall Street Journal announced that several European banks refused to participate in the procedure of placing of the Russian Eurobonds, not wanting to displease the U.S. authorities and the EU. According to the publication, the program decided not to engage such banks as BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and UBS.
Some European credit institutions, according to sources, does not exclude that will participate in the program, including the Italian UniCredit and French Societe Generale. In turn, from participation in transactions with Russian Eurobonds refrain the largest American banks Bank Of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, J. P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
On 15 March, The Financial Times wrote that the European Union has urged banks to refrain from placement of Russian bonds. Imposed by the EU restrictive measures do not directly prohibit the purchase of Russian securities, but in Brussels believe that the funds can be used for other purposes.
February 25, the U.S. government recommended that a major U.S. investment banks not to engage in transactions with Russian bonds. The state Department stated that “private companies in the U.S., the EU and the world should understand that Russia will remain a market with a high degree of risk” to stabilize the situation in Ukraine.
A month earlier the Deputy Minister of Finance Sergey Storchak reported that Russia in 2016 to enter the market of external borrowing for the first time in three years. The Finance Ministry intends to place bonds worth up to 3 billion dollars. The money will go to cover the budget deficit (2,36 trillion rubles).
