Fixed Income
Ukrainian sovereign Eurobonds had their best week so far in 2015, rising significantly thanks to the IMF board’s decision to approve a new USD 17.5bn loan program for the country. The aid is part of what the Washington-based lender and Ukraine’s government hope will be a USD 40bn package, including contributions from the US and European Union and a prospective USD 15bn in savings to be negotiated with Ukraine’s creditors. Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko had a public Q&A session with investors on Friday, in an effort to explain why creditors’ participation in the financial assistance program for the country is necessary. However, Jaresko offered no straight answers about the terms of the coming sovereign restructuring, saying only that it will be a combination of maturity extensions, coupon reductions and haircuts. The benchmark Ukraine-2023 Eurobonds surged by 10% to 46.8/47.8 (21.8/21.3%). Sovereigns maturing this September, which are certain to be restructured, rose 10.7% to
