S&P: US Sanctions Will Not Affect Russian Budget Financing

US sanctions against will not materially affect Russia’s budget financing but they signal the risk of harsher restrictions later on, the international rating agency S&P says in the comment on Monday, TASS writes.

On April 15, the United States introduced new sanctions against Russia. The US financial institutions were banned from participating in the primary market for ruble or non-ruble sovereign debt floated by the Russian Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Russia or the National Wealth Fund after June 14, 2021.

The restriction “will not, in our view, materially affect Russia’s budget financing, nor will it disrupt Russia’s financial markets,” S&P says.

At the same time, S&P sees the risk of incremental rounds of sanctions against Russia in the next few years. “Uncertainty about the timing and nature of future sanctions could deter investments into Russia in the medium term, damaging growth,” the rating agency adds.