RUSSIA PAYED SOME COUPONS ON DOLLAR DEBT, SOURCES SAY
Karin Strohecker, Sujata Rao and Mark Jones
LONDON – Some Russian debt coupons that expired this week were paid in dollars, two market sources said Thursday as Russia avoided a default in what could be the first in a century.
Russia said on Wednesday it had issued a payment order to pay a $117 million (€106.4 million) coupon.
“The coupon was paid contrary to my expectations and in dollars,” the source said. Another person said that his client, a holder of Russian sovereign bonds, had received the payment.
Other creditors said they have not yet received payment but are optimistic after receiving bond payments from a number of public and private Russian companies.
Another source told Reuters that JPMorgan, the Russian correspondent bank, processed the payment sent by the government and credited it to Citi. It will be tested and then distributed to various bondholders, the source said.
Citi declined to comment.
The coupon payment, which was due on March 16 but has a 30-day grace period, was seen as the first test of whether Moscow will honor its debt obligations after the imposition of sanctions.
(French version by Anahit Mirijanyan)