Market braces for end of Russia central bank sanctions carve-out

There are fears that a decision not to extend carve-outs from sanctions for the Central Bank of Russia this month may create disorder in the sovereign debt and deliverable ruble derivatives markets.

The Russian central bank is currently subject to sanctions from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) but has a so-called general licence that allows market participants to receive coupons on Russian sovereign bonds.

This licence expires on May 25 and although it has been