The effort that Russia’s leading banks have put into building up their names on the international capital markets, using a string of short-term and expensive bond issues, has paid off. Since the start of the year, the banks have issued a flood of Eurobonds with falling yields and lengthening maturities that have given them the resources to pull away from their smaller peers, which are still barred from the international markets.
Russian Eurobonds are back in fashion and this spring they overtook Mexican bonds – the favourite comparison – in their appeal to foreign investors. Russia’s most liquid Eurobonds, maturing in 2030, earn investors about 5.6%.