Russia’s switch to making debt payments in roubles has brought the heavily sanctioned country to the brink of defaulting on its debts, according to a leading credit rating agency. Sanctions on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine have prevented the Russian central bank from accessing much of the foreign currency it has amassed in recent years. Over the past week, Russia has needed to meet two payment deadlines on bonds it previously sold to foreign investors. In 1998 Russia forced lenders to wait 90 days before it made debt interest payments, triggering a technical default. If Russia misses debt deadlines, lenders that have insured their loans using credit default swaps will be able to seek insurance payouts.

Source: The Guardian April 16, 2022 16:35 UTC