Russia is replacing Citibank, which has stopping servicing the country’s Eurobonds, with its own National Settlement Depository, the finance ministry said on Thursday, as it risks its first major external debt default in over a century.
Sanctions imposed by Western countries and their allies on Russia after it started what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24 have all but excluded the country from the global financial system.
The lapse last month of a key U.S. licence allowing Russia to make payments put the prospect of the country defaulting back into focus.
But Russia says it has cash and is willing to pay, refusing any talk of default. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Monday that Moscow would continue to service its external debts in rubles….