Bloomberg: Russian Railways becomes first russian company to allow default on Eurobonds

Russian Railways has defaulted on one issue of Eurobonds, according to Bloomberg.The media cited the Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee. Russian Railways tried to make a payment on a coupon on 14 March, but it failed to reach investors by the end of a 10-day grace period. As the result, the company missed a bond interest payment. Bloomberg reported that contracts insuring the company’s debt against default will be triggered by the committee’s decision. At the same time, the cost of russian debt insurance is rising as investors assess the prospects of default.Last week, russia was forced to pay its bonds in rubles to keep up with its debt, although the bonds do not allow it.S&P Global Ratings said earlier that the payment in a different currency is tantamount to a default, although the russian government has until early May to remedy it with conversion into dollars. The international rating agency S&P Global Ratings on 9 April downgraded russia's foreign currency ratings from CCC to SD/SD, which means a selective default.