MOSCOW, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Three Western bankers said on
Monday there had been no decision to form a creditors club of
Russian and foreign banks at the start of September,
contradicting statements by the Russian central bank.
The central bank's spokesperson was not immediately
available to comment.
The central bank earlier said Russian banks and foreign
banks had agreed in principle to form a creditors club at the
start of September, where discussions on Russian commercial bank
debt to Western banks would take place.
"There was no such agreement," said the head of a
representative office of one bank.
Another banker said the idea of a creditors club was
mentioned by central bank First Deputy Chairman Sergei
Aleksashenko but that banks were urged more to work on a
bilateral basis to solve their problems.
"They did not ask for a vote, they did not ask for feedback
on that. The more important thing was that people should get
together separately," said the other banker.
The central bank earlier said in a statement that agreement
on forming a creditors club was made at the meeting, which
brought Russian banks and their Western lenders together.
The central bank said the Russian authorities at the meeting
said they would take no responsibility for assuming obligations
of Russian banks to lenders but were ready to take part in talks
to solve the repayments problem on "market principles".
"At the same time representatives of the central bank
requested Western creditors to hold back from unilateral
'forceful' measures against Russian banks such as freezing
accounts, not fulfilling commissions or blocking current
operations," the central bank added.
Rating agency Fitch-IBCA last week said that Russian banks
owed around $1.0 billion in foreign currency debt, of which
about one quarter fell due in the next three months.
The moratorium covered principal on foreign credits for more
than 180 days but did not cover Russian sovereign debt.
--Patrick Lannin, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941-8520
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