Finance ministry pays Eurobond interest in Belarusian rubels again

December 30, BPN. On December 29, the Belarusian finance ministry said it paid a rubel equivalent of $22.9 million in interest on the U.S.-dollar denominated Eurobonds maturing in 2027.

It transferred the funds to Belarusbank, while Citibank N.A. London Branch, a designated Belarus’ Eurobond paying agent, was granted access rights.

On June 28, the Council of Ministers and the National Bank in a joint resolution declared their intention to service Belarus’ foreign debt in Belarusian rubels. The Belarusian finance ministry reported next day the first rubel payment of interest on the 2027 Eurobond denominated in US dollars.

On July 7, Citibank, N.A. of London announced that it will stop servicing payments on Belarus’ Eurobonds amid Western sanctions.

Shortly after, rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s downgraded Belarus’ credit rating: the former said its default was inevitable, and the latter described the rubel payment as a default.

The Belarusian Ministry of Finance criticized those decisions.

On August 4, S&P Global Ratings cut Belarus’ long-term foreign currency rating to SD (selective default) and said it has defaulted on Eurobonds (D).

Authorities plan to allocate 9.5 billion rubels (an equivalent of $3.4 billion) to repay the external public debt in 2023.