(Bloomberg) — The Russian central bank has banned coupon payments to foreign owners of ruble bonds known as OFZs in what it called a temporary step to shore up markets in the wake of international sanctions.
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The Bank of Russia issued the instruction to depositaries and registries as part of a raft of measures announced this week that included a freeze on local security sales by foreigners. It could leave foreign investors who held almost 3 trillion rubles ($29 billion) in the debt at the start of February unable to collect income on their holdings, which are already blocked from sale by restrictions.
The next coupon payment on OFZ bonds is due tomorrow on notes maturing in 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Game over? I think they underestimated how far sanctions will go and now don’t have much left to do,” said Viktor Szabo, a fund manager at…
