Banks are making big money off of Russian debt
CNN
US banks have left Russia, but that doesn't mean they're done making money off the Kremlin's horrific invasion of Ukraine.
The sell-off of Russian debt associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin's campaign on Ukraine and the sanctions that have ensued have created a window for a new type of arbitrage that some in the finance world are gobbling up, seeing it as easy money.
The idea is what's known as a negative-basis trade, or purchasing dirt-cheap Russian government or corporate bonds along with credit-default swaps which act as insurance on the potential default of a borrower.
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