Russia

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday that the ailing state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) should first sell some of its assets before the ministry gives it financial aid, Reuters reported. Siluanov previously said that the bank will need around $20 billion over the next few years. The government has been debating how to save the bank, with one of the proposals calling for its recapitalisation through domestic treasury bonds. "You must first use VEB's resources ... its accumulated assets," Interfax news agency cited Siluanov as saying.

Russia's VTB bank has not yet decided whether to buy a stake in indebted steelmaker Mechel's Elga coal mine project together with Gazprombank, VTB's head Andrei Kostin said on Monday, Reuters reported. Kostin told journalists that VTB is waiting to hear whether state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) decides to finance the Elga project in Russia's far east. Should VEB decide not to issue a credit line to Elga, VTB will most likely decide against buying the miner's shares, Kostin added.

President Vladimir Putin’s annual address to Russia’s parliament last week began with the expected rallying call to fight Islamist terrorism, and praise for the country’s military in Syria. He threatened to make Turkey “regret more than once” shooting down a Russian bomber last month. But then Mr Putin devoted much of his speech to domestic issues — above all, Russia’s growing economic difficulties, the Financial Times reported. Such attention is welcome, though words are not enough.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will not get involved in the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to restructure Ukraine’s debt to Russia, IMF Communications Department Director Gerry Rice said in a briefing on Thursday, Sputnik News reported. “We expect Russian and Ukrainian authorities to conduct direct discussions on this matter,” Rice stated.

Russia has proposed a restructuring of the $3bn bond owed to it by Ukraine, an about-turn from Moscow’s earlier insistence of full repayment next month, the Financial Times reported. The move offers a glimmer of hope that Russia and Ukraine can avoid a legal clash over the debt — a threat raised after Russia refused to participate in the $18bn restructuring deal Kiev reached with other creditors a month ago. However, question marks hang over the Russian offer as President Vladimir Putin made clear that he expects the International Monetary Fund to guarantee the debt.

Two dozen pilots and stewardesses from the Russian airline Transaero observed a minute’s silence in the centre of St Petersburg on Sunday for those who died in the crash of Metrojet flight 9268 in Egypt last weekend, the Financial Times reported. But the men and women in the dark blue coats were just as anguished over the fate of their own airline. They have joined protests against the looming bankruptcy of Transaero, Russia’s second-largest carrier and the country’s largest privately owned one.

Turkey's Yuksel Insaat is facing a revolt from a growing faction of investors who have vowed not to vote in favour of a critical restructuring plan, which could push one of the country's largest construction companies into insolvency. Yuksel Insaat, which is the operating company of Yuksel Holding, is trying to restructure US$200m 9.5% bonds, equal to more than half of its debt. The notes mature on November 10. The issuer is due to have a Scheme of Arrangement hearing at the UK High Court a day before the notes' maturity.

Russian businessman Vladimir Kogan has acquired 82 percent of Uralsib Bank's shares as part of a central bank plan to avert bankruptcy at the top-30 Russian lender, the bank said on Wednesday. The Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) will also give Uralsib loans for 14 billion roubles ($224 million) for six years and 67 billion roubles ($1 billion) for 10 years to help improve its financial position, the state agency said. Uralsib is Russia's 26th largest bank by assets, according to an Interfax ranking, and it is the biggest bank to be saved with central bank funds since Bank of Moscow in 2011.

Russia's central bank is considering relaxing rules for banks that lent to troubled airline Transaero, a senior central banker said on Tuesday, a day after a deal to buy a controlling stake in the airline fell through, Reuters reported. Alexei Simanovsky, first deputy governor of the central bank, told reporters that the bank was considering extending the time period over which banks had to create loan-loss provisions, thereby easing pressure on their balance sheets. "We are thinking that it could be an extension on creating reserves," Simanovsky said.

A Ukrainian Eurobond held by Russia and due for redemption in December is "official" debt, and for that reason Russia is not taking part in restructuring talks Ukraine has held with private creditors, Russia's finance minister said on Wednesday. Anton Siluanov told journalists that Moscow would take legal measures if Kiev did not repay the debt on time. Russia's longstanding position is that the $3 billion Ukrainian Eurobond should be classified as official intergovernmental debt and is therefore subject to different rules than for sovereign debt owned by private firms.