Russian bondholders may frustrate restructuring of debts

Distressed debt holders use restructurings to extract returns. Getting the agreement of Russian investors will be hard

Western investors in Russia’s stricken corporate bond market may struggle to generate returns by restructuring companies’ debts, according to lawyers and distressed debt specialists who are struggling to divine the intentions of local investors.

“A lot of corporate debt is held by Russian banks, wealth managers, other entities,” says an investor in Russian corporate bonds working at an asset manager based in London. “How do you deal with them if you want to restructure a bond or take certain