RKB’s owner, Boris Ivanishvili, is the only pre-crisis oligarch to make a sincere attempt to pay off his debts.
The bank’s recovery is particularly galling to its peers because it was among those hardest hit by the collapse of the banking system. Within weeks of the crash, it was due to pay back a one-year $125m syndicated loan and make a $10.2m coupon payment on a two-year $200m Eurobond. A government moratorium on international payments meant that it defaulted on both.