Russia’s Finance Ministry is preparing to raise funds from state-controlled banks to help finance a widening wartime budget deficit after struggling to sell government bonds on the open market, analysts said.
On Thursday, the ministry registered two new issues of floating-rate federal loan bonds (OFZs): one worth 500 billion rubles ($6.45 billion) maturing in 2037 and another worth 1 trillion rubles ($12.90 billion) maturing in 2042.
Analysts at VTB said the move indicates the ministry is preparing to arrange large, pre-agreed bond placements with major banks, primarily state-owned lenders, which have traditionally been the main buyers of floating-rate OFZs.
The shift comes as Russia’s budget deficit reached nearly 6 trillion…