The Bank of Russia has announced an expansion in the range of bonds available to non-qualified investors. Now, these investors can purchase corporate bonds with a credit rating of A+ or higher without undergoing testing. However, this does not include bonds secured by monetary claims, such as mortgage bonds.
These instruments are considered highly liquid and have a low default probability of no more than 1.3%. “Therefore, investors will be sufficiently protected from credit risk,” stated the Bank of Russia. This move aims to make the debt market more appealing to retail investors and assist them in building a more balanced investment portfolio.
Previously, non-qualified investors could only access federal government bonds, bonds from Russian constituent territories regardless of their credit rating, and other fixed income securities with at least an AAA rating without testing.
