Fitch highlights liquidity risks for central securities depository if EU plan for a loan to Ukraine goes ahead

A Moscow court will hold a preliminary hearing on January 16 on the Russian central bank’s lawsuit against Belgian depository Euroclear, the court’s press service said on Wednesday. The central bank has filed a lawsuit in Moscow this week seeking $230 billion in damages from Euroclear,

EU leaders have gathered in Brussels to secure funding for Ukraine’s defence over the next two years, but Belgium’s opposition to using frozen Russian assets held in the country has complicated efforts to strike a deal.

The Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit in Moscow seeking 18.2 trillion rubles ($229 billion) from Euroclear, the state-run Tass news service reported Monday.

The CEO of Euroclear, a company that holds billions of euros in frozen Russian assets, warned that any threat to its continued existence could impact the global financial market as discussions continue about using the assets for Ukraine.

The central bank said in a statement Friday that it would sue the Belgium-based depository for “unlawful actions” that make it “impossible for the bank to dispose of its funds and securities”.

Doha Bank successfully issued a digital bond worth $150 million, settled with Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI).

Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it will be protected from Russian retaliation before it would back a massive loan for Ukraine. At a high-stakes EU summit in Brussels,