Putin Jeopardizes Russian Firms’ Access to $600 Billion

Escalating European Union and U.S. sanctions jeopardize access to funding for Russian companies, threatening to cut them off from international capital markets that have provided at least $600 billion in debt and equity financing since the country emerged from its 1998 default.

Russian businesses have about $165 billion in dollar- and European-currency denominated bonds and more than $100 billion in offshore syndicated loans currently outstanding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They’ve also raised more than $40 billion selling American and global depositary receipts abroad over the past 15 years. Banks based in China, which remains friendly with President Vladimir Putin’s government, won’t be able to fill the breach, said Ian Hague, founding partner of New York-based Firebird Management LLC.