Russia Reenters Int'l Sovereign Bond Market With Eurobond Issue

Russia has resumed selling its government bonds on the international market, issuing its first Eurobonds earlier on Monday, a banking source told RIA Novosti on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — VTB Capital, a subsidiary of the Russian VTB Bank financial services corporation, has been designated to carry out the bond operations, the source said. The bond yield is reportedly set to be between 4.65 and 4.9 percent per year.

The bank may issue the entire $3 billion worth of Eurobonds provided for by Russia's Finance Ministry by the end of the day, a VTB Capital source told the RBC media outlet.

In late March, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said that there is a "good chance" that Russia will successfully issue its first sovereign Eurobonds since anti-Russia sanctions were imposed by the West two years ago. Both Washington and Brussels had reportedly urged their respective banks against underwriting or purchasing Russian bonds. While the Kremlin did not confirm the claims, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov admitted to experiencing difficulties in finding banks to work with.

Relations between Russia and the West deteriorated amid the 2014 crisis in Ukraine. The European Union, the United States and their allies have introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions since the reunification of Crimea with Russia in 2014, accusing Moscow of meddling in the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow has repeatedly refuted the allegations.

Russia last borrowed from foreign creditors in September 2013, when $6 billion worth of bonds were issued.