Russian Banks to Tap Eurobond Market
Several Russian banks ‘‘‘ Gazprombank, Sberbank and VEB ‘‘‘ lined up in June and July 2014 to be the first state-owned enterprises to access the international bond markets since the peak of the Ukraine crisis in February 2014. Gazprombank has hired Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Gazprombank Financial Services and SG CIB to arrange investor meetings in London, Paris and Frankfurt. Sberbank reportedly hired Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and its own investment banking unit on its way to issuing 1 billion euros of five-and-a-half year notes on June 23. These banks were reportedly looking to raise eurobonds and avoid dollar-denominated bonds due to anxiety over sanctions. Confidence levels were higher due to the successful bond offering of ABH Financial (the holding company of private lender, Alfa-Bank) in early June, seemingly demonstrating European demand for Russian debt.