MOSCOW, July 11 (RIA Novosti) – Sberbank and VTB, Russia’s largest lenders, do not plan to purchase Ukrainian “military” treasuries, issued to finance its armed forces, two sources in the banking field told RIA Novosti Friday.
“VTB did not participate in the initial placement of the bonds in question and does not plan to do so in the future,” the source, who is close to the bank, said.
He underlined that VTB’s affiliated company in Ukraine for years has been on a list of 17 banks that are primary dealers of treasuries. Under local laws, primary dealers are obliged to purchase a certain amount of state-issued bonds on the primary market. The law, however, does not list particular bonds, which dealers ought to buy. No sanctions for breaking the commitment are stipulated.
“No wonder that the majority of banks refused to participate in the placement of questionable issue of the so-called ‘military’ bonds of Ukraine,” the source added.
The largest Russian lender, Sberbank, is not planning to buy Ukrainian bonds either.
“Sberbank is not taking part in this borrowing,” another source in banking circles said.
Ukrainian authorities decided to issue military bonds worth $93.8 billion, including $8.5 billion for individuals. Kiev in late May announced that apart from several local banks, affiliated entities of Sberbank and VTB would participate in the placement of treasuries. A number of international banking groups are acting as dealers, including Citi, ING, UniCredit, Raiffeisen and OTP.
