Page 58 - RusRPTMay19

6.2 Debt
Russia - External debt 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Jan-Jun ‘18
Budget: external debt (USD bn)
2,363.52 2,844.56 2,729.43 2,169.01 2,073.22 2,096.24 1,005.41
Budget: external debt (% GDP)
29.02 31.73 29.07 37.89 39.83 32.84 /
source: CEIC, CBR
In aggregate, Russia’s government, state and private sectors have been steadily reducing their external debt, which was down by over 10% in the year to October 2018 according to the Bank of Russia. However, deleveraging over the past year was led by the state sector, and in particular by state-owned banks responding to the risk of further US sanctions, while private-sector debt has fallen more slowly. As a result, the private sector’s share of foreign debt rose to 54% of the total in the final quarter of last year compared with 48% in early 2016 and its highest share since 2012.
Russian foreign debt increased slightly in the first quarter. The debt increase mainly concerned government debt to foreigners. Russia's foreign debt, which is mainly held by companies, banks and the state, remains significantly below the 2014 peak. In mid-2014, the debt was about $733bn, but at the end of March 2019 it was about $468bn.
Since the peak of 2014, both sanctions and weak economic development in Russia have reduced foreign debt largely due to debt repayments. The weak economic situation reduced Russia's foreign debt also in the context of the 2009 financial crisis, but then the debt level quickly recovered after the crisis broke out. The impact of sanctions is reflected, in particular, in the continued decline in foreign debt of Russian banks, as Russia's largest banks, incl. Sberbank and VTB do not receive new long-term funding from the EU and US.
At the end of March, the Russian state had more than $53bn in foreign debt (11% of total foreign debt) and banks over $82bn (18%). Other sectors, mainly non-financial corporations, accounted for about $318bn of foreign debt (68%), of, which $142bn was debt between parent company groups and subsidiaries.
58 RUSSIA Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com