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Russia was poised to default on its foreign debt for the first time since 1918, pushed into delinquency not for lack of money but because of punishing Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia was likely to miss payments on two foreign-currency bonds late Sunday, according to holders of the bonds who had yet to see funds deposited. The day marks the elapse of a 30-day grace period since the country was due to pay the equivalent of $100 million in dollars and euros to bondholders.

Grace period for $100mn in interest payments ends on Sunday evening. Russia could default on its foreign debt for the first time this century as the clock ticks down on a pair of overdue interest payments blocked by western sanctions. About $100mn worth of interest on Russian government debt is due to bondholders by Sunday night, the end of a 30-day grace period during which the country must make the payments to avoid defaulting. Russia said it had sent the funds to investors, but financial sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine have hampered Moscow’s ability to...

Russia's failure to pay $1.9 million in accrued interest on a dollar bond will trigger payouts potentially worth billions of dollars, a panel of investors determined on Wednesday, as the country teeters on its first major external debt default in over a century.

Borrowers with limited or troubled credit histories are defaulting on credit cards, car loans and personal loans Consumers with low credit scores are falling behind on payments for car loans, personal loans and credit cards, a sign that the healthiest consumer lending environment on record in the U.S. is coming to an end. Delinquencies on subprime car loans and leases hit an all-time high in February, based on Equifax’s tracking that goes back to 2007. (Subprime defined as credit score below 620). [Snip] The jump in subprime delinquencies could reduce lenders’ willingness to make loans to riskier borrowers. [Snip] Fewer...

Partial transcript: “So this time we have a worse financial crisis than last time and nobody gets a bailout, nobody gets a government check there is no TARP there is nothing and what does that mean that means the US government instead of sending stimulus checks to Americans who were struggling, who are unemployed the US government is actually going to send Americans a bill because the government is going to be forced to raise taxes on the people who still have jobs because that's the only way it can pay its bills but you know what else they're going...

Russia previously insisted on completing payments in rubles. Russia appeared to narrowly avoid default on Friday as it paid off a number of overdue international debts in dollars, reversing its recent policy requiring transactions occur in rubles. The finance ministry said it paid $564.8 million on a 2022 Eurobond and $84.4 million on a 2042 bond in dollars, as specified on the bonds, Reuters reported.

Russia's attempt to pay for two of its dollar bonds using rubles was deemed a potential default scenario by a derivatives industry watchdog on Wednesday, bringing the country to the brink of its first default in a century. The Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee — a panel within the The International Swap and Derivatives Association — ruled that a "potential failure to pay" event had occurred, Reuters first reported. It is still possible for Russia to avoid a default if it manages to pay bondholders using dollars before a one-month grace period ends on May 4. Russia has become increasingly cut...

The tiny island nation of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean released a statement Tuesday that said it would default on its foreign debt, including bonds and government-to-government borrowings, amid its worst economic crisis in over seven decades. Sri Lanka’s finance ministry said it “has had an unblemished record of external debt service since independence in 1948.” A confluence of factors has drained the South Asian island nation’s foreign exchange reserves by more than 70% since the virus pandemic began, including the collapse in tourism and poorly timed tax cuts. “Recent events, however, including the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic...

Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles, not dollars, credit ratings agency S&P has said. Russia attempted to pay in rubles for two dollar-denominated bonds that matured on April 4, S&P said in a note on Friday. The agency said this amounted to a “selective default” because investors are unlikely to be able to convert the rubles into “dollars equivalent to the originally due amounts.”

Russia's finance minister said the country would take legal action if it's forced to default on its external debt, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Monday. Russia is facing a historic sovereign default after the US Treasury blocked the country's dollar payment to international bondholders last week. Russia last defaulted on its foreign debt more than a century ago, in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution. "Of course, we will sue, because we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that investors receive their payments," Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the pro-Krelim Izvestia in an interview.

Belarus said on Thursday it will pay some of its foreign debts in Belarusian roubles, as Western sanctions limit its ability to deal in foreign currencies. The country will pay debt and interest in Belarusian roubles on loans raised from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Nordic Investment Bank, the Belarusian government said.

Russia on Wednesday said it had transferred $650 million worth of bond payments in rubles, raising fresh questions about whether the country is heading for an official default. The move came after the US on Monday banned Russia from making dollar debt payments from accounts at American financial institutions. Russia's Finance Ministry on Wednesday confirmed foreign banks had refused to process the $649.2 million payment in dollars, which were due Monday. It said it had instead sent the money to the country's National Settlement Depository in rubles. The Ministry said it believes its obligations "have been fulfilled in full." However,...

The United States stopped the Russian government on Monday from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at U.S. banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of dollars. Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions were frozen. But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis. On Monday, as the...

Russia Claims It Has Made Bond Interest Payments–But Says Up To U.S. To Make Sure They Go Through Amid Fear Of Default Lisa Kim Forbes Staff TOPLINE Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Wednesday the country had attempted to make interest payments on two dollar-denominated government bonds, but said it was up to the United States to make sure the payments go through, amid concerns that Russia could default on its debt for the first time since the late 1990s.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Wednesday it is up to the U.S. to decide whether crucial interest payments on two dollar-denominated eurobonds go through, ratcheting up fears of Moscow’s first foreign currency debt default in over a century. “The possibility or impossibility of fulfilling our obligations in foreign currency does not depend on us, we have the money, we paid the payment, now the ball is on the side, first of all, of the American authorities,” Siluanov said in an interview with RT Arabic, according to Russian news agency RIA. “The Russian Federation has the necessary money in foreign...

Rating company Fitch said it would declare the Russian state in default if it pays holders of dollar-denominated bonds in rubles. The Russian sovereign has $117 million in interest payments due today for two dollar-denominated government bonds—one maturing in 2023 and one in 2043. Russia’s finance ministry has sent conflicting messages about whether it intends to make the payment and, if so, in what currency. Fitch said that if these payments aren’t received in dollars and within the 30-day grace period, it will constitute a default.

LONDON- The economic cost of Russia's assault on Ukraine was fully exposed on Wednesday as Vladimir Putin's sanctions-ravaged government teetered on the brink of its first international debt default since the Bolshevik revolution. Moscow was due to pay $117 million in interest on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds it had sold back in 2013. But the limits it now faces making payments, and talk from the Kremlin that it might pay in roubles - triggering a default anyway - meant even veteran investors were left guessing at what might happen. One described it as the most closely watched government debt payment...

As Russia risks default, country sends order for coupon payments March 14 (Reuters) - The Russian Finance Ministry said on Monday it has sent an order to a correspondent bank for the payment of coupons on eurobonds amounting to $117.2 million, a signal to markets waiting to see whether Russia will default on its sovereign debt. The eurobonds in question, maturing in 2023 and 2043 , were both last trading at 20 cents on the dollar or lower and are among the first to have scheduled payments after Russia was hit by sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine. The...

Russia is due to make two interest payments on its dollar bonds on Wednesday, but it is unclear whether western investors will actually receive their cash, potentially lining up a uniquely messy government debt default. Russia’s first default since 1998, and its first default on foreign-currency debt since the Russian Revolution, would complete a staggering turnround. Before it invaded Ukraine, Russia was considered one of the most creditworthy countries in the world, with its low debt levels and vast oil and gas exports. But unprecedented western sanctions aimed at cutting off Russia from the global financial system have sent the...

The Russian Finance Ministry said on Monday it has sent an order to a correspondent bank for the payment of coupons on eurobonds amounting to $117.2 million, a signal to markets waiting to see whether Russia will default on its sovereign debt. The eurobonds in question, maturing in 2023 and 2043, were both last trading at 20 cents on the dollar or lower and are among the first to have scheduled payments after Russia was hit by sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine. The restrictions meant it was unclear whether Russia would be able, or willing, to make the...