Credit determinations committee agrees to look into Russias potential failure to pay

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpLONDON Reuters – The EMEA Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee CDDC on Tuesday accepted a request to address the question of whether a potential failure to pay occurred on Russias hardcurrency bonds, possibly bringing payout on billions of dollars in default insurance a step closer. p

pRussia made a payment due on April 4 on two sovereign bonds in roubles rather than the dollars it was mandated to pay under the terms of the instruments. pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pCredit Default Swaps CDS are a way of insuring the buyer against exposure to specific risks, in this case Russia defaulting on its sovereign debt.p

pThe process starts with a market participant, usually an investor who has bought such protection, asking the CDDC to decide whether a potential failure to pay event has happened.p

pThe committee has accepted the request and has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday at 11 am GMT, according to its website.p

pInvestment bank JPMorgan said in a note on Monday that there were currently 3.43 billion of net notional Russia CDS to be settled, including 2.48 billion from single name and the remainder from CDS indexes.p

p

pp Reporting by Karin Strohecker additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos editing by Alex Richardson and Bill Berkrotp

divdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivdivdiv