One in Five Distressed Corporate Bonds Are Made in Moscow

One of every five distressed corporate bonds worldwide call Russia home following a more than tenfold increase since November as sanctions bite further into economic growth.

Yields on foreign-currency securities for 68 bonds were trading at least 1,000 basis points above Treasuries on Jan. 16, up from about five notes on Dec. 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The biggest contributors were lenders OAO VTB Bank and Vnesheconombank, both under U.S. and European Union sanctions stemming from President Vladimir Putin’s support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.