Fixed Income
February 15, 2016
Ukrainian sovereign Eurobonds ended notably lower for a second straight week, with the yield on the 10-year issue climbing above 10% for the first time after the country restructured its debt last October. The sell-off was triggered by fears that the IMF could freeze its Ukraine lending program due a lack of results in reducing corruption. Ukraine remains mired at 130th place on a frequently-cited list of 168 countries in the “Corruption Perceptions Index” published by the Transparency International NGO. Ukraine’s last IMF rescue also ended up on the rocks in 2011, due to a lack of reforms by the Yanukovich government, but the stakes are much higher this time as no fall-back option exists.
