Some curious rumblings out of Russia today.
First, there was a report in the Nikkei newspaper that Russian banks and businesses may ask foreign banks to restructure loans worth $400bn. The Japanese paper cited an interview with the Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian Association of Regional Banks, saying the association is already in talks with HSBC and Deutsche Bank. Cue the European reaction.
From the FT:
The euro suffered on Tuesday as a report that Russia was looking to restructure $400bn of its outstanding corporate debt highlighted concerns over the eurozone’s exposure to problems in emerging Europe.
Analysts said the report triggered a knee-jerk bout of heavy euro selling, given the eurozone’s high exposure to the region through bank lending. According to the Bank for International Settlements, European banks’ foreign claims on Russia totalled just over $200bn, or around 1 per cent of GDP.
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