Wall Street’s Skittish Attitude Toward Putin Pays Off As Russia Default Looms

Wall Street’s Skittish Attitude Toward Putin Pays Off As Russia Default Looms

Citigroup faces the most exposure to Russian sovereign and corporate debt, recently redefining its ... [+] at-risk exposure to Russia from $5. 5 billion to $9. 8 billion. Most of Wall Street has taken a hands-off approach to Russia. Now that the country, ruled by President Vladimir Putin, seems headed for default, that attitude appears to be the correct one. Analysts have warned that it's still too early to get a complete picture of the financial damage that would ripple from a Russian default, but it appears, at least for now, that the biggest U. S. banks have averted the worst of it. The biggest loser seems to be Citigroup, which said its exposure to Russian sovereign and corporate debt could result in losses in the range of $5. 5 billion to $9. 8 billion. The banks disclose their top 20 exposures to non-U. S. countries and Russia is not in that group for Bank of America, Wells Fargo or JPMorgan Chase and not in the top 10 for Morgan Stanley. Goldman Sachs has reported credit exposure of $650 million – a sliver of its $2. 8 trillion credit book. "This is obviously a very complicated situation because banks have