How $300 bn of Russian cash pile can rattle global money markets

Russia still has about $300 billion of foreign currency held offshore -- enough to disrupt money markets if it’s frozen by sanctions or moved suddenly to avoid them.

That’s according to Credit Suisse Group AG strategist Zoltan Pozsar, who parsed data from the Bank of Russia and financial markets to calculate the figure.

“When flows change, spreads can gap,” Pozsar wrote in a report Thursday. “If things escalate, it’s hard not to see a direct impact on FX swaps and U.S. dollar Libor fixings given Russia’s vast financial surpluses and where those surpluses are deployed.”