MOSCOW: Count the mortgage-backed securities market as another victim of Russia’s recession.
VTB Group, the nation’s top organiser of the bonds, says issuance will slump 60% this year to 100 billion rubles (US$1.5bil) after the government wound down programmes for state-run agencies to buy the notes. President Vladimir Putin, who has touted the importance of affordable housing and sought to curb mortgage rates that can surpass 16%, has instead been depleting a second source of funding for the securities as he focuses on narrowing the fiscal deficit.