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World’s private banks believe Russia will not restructure Kiev’s debts — IIF official

Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia will insist on full repayment of the debt

WASHINGTON, August 27. /TASS/. The global private banking and financial sector believes fairly possible Russia will not take part in Ukraine’s debts restructuring, Executive Managing Director of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF) Hung Tran said on Thursday.

If Russia refuses to reconsider the repayment terms for $3 bln worth Eurobonds, viewing them as a sovereign loan, "consequently, the IMF and Ukraine would have to come up with alternative measures to plug any financing gap caused by Russia's action," the expert said. "For private sector bondholders agreeing to the deal, it is important that documentation for the extended/restructured bonds contains well drafted pari passu and cross-default clauses excluding any references to possible Russia-triggered credit events," he added.

"Since non-payment by Ukraine to its Eurobond holders has been widely expected, the deal doesn't really change the economic prospects for Ukraine-we expect real GDP to shrink by 10-12% this year with foreign reserves still extremely low at $14 billion at the end of 2015. However, the deal removes a distraction from the government, allowing it to focus on implementing the reform measures," Hung Tran said.

The expert added IIF believes the need for the flexibility and readiness for trade-off on both sides is the key lesson learned after talks between Ukraine and private lenders.

Ukraine was reported earlier on Thursday to reach an agreement with bondholders, providing for partial write-off and extension of the period for Ukraine’s debt repayment to private lenders. Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia will insist on full repayment of the debt.

IIF is the only global association of commercial and investment banks, funds, insurance companies, brokers, and other financial institution, with nearly 500 members from more than 70 countries.