Russia denies foreign debt plan
The Russian government has denied press reports that the country`s banks want it to help them restructure $400bn (ё269bn) of their foreign debt.
"There are no such plans in the government," said a spokesman, who added that the article in a Japanese newspaper "does not reflect reality".
Despite the denial, the rumour has hit the value of the euro, as European banks are most exposed to Russia.
In early trade the euro was down 11.4 cents against the US dollar to $1.286.
Against the yen, the euro had fallen to 117.51 yen from 118.90 yen.
The head of the Association of Russian Banks, Anatoly Aksakov, also denied that there was any call for a centralised move to restructure foreign debts.
"The information that the association has presented a request about a restructuring plan for debts worth $400bn to the government and a number of Western banks does not correspond to reality," he said.
"Individual borrowers can have negotiations about restructuring debts on their own but I know nothing about a large-scale, centralised initiative."
|
