As the Russian lending industry and cross-border payments continue to be defined by the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, TWINO is forced to suspend the principal repayments of the Russian loans. At the same time, the interest repayments will continue as usual and will be covered by TWINO.
At the time of writing, the Russian loan portfolio accounts for 19% of all loans on the TWINO platform. The other 81% of the investor portfolio will not be affected in any way.
Current situation
- On the 24th of February 2022, Russia started an act of war by taking military action against Ukraine. Following this disturbing news, already on the 26th of February TWINO team took the first steps to protect the investor interests by starting a gradual reduction of the Russian loans listed and also the ones listed with the Currency Exposure functionality to protect the investors from the Russian Ruble fluctuations. As of today, we can inform you that Russian loans are no longer being listed on the TWINO investment platform for several days.
- War and the following unprecedented economical sanctions to end Russia’s aggression have created a situation of force majeure*, where cross-border cooperation with the country is close to impossible.
- Already for a prolonged time, payments to and from the country are significantly affected, leaving an impact also on our Russian loan originator. The payments out of Russia are being returned to the sender by the commercial banks. The sanctions currently affect almost the entire Russian commercial banking sector, including fully restricted SWIFT payments. In addition to that, also the payment card companies Mastercard and Visa are restricting international payment options with payment institutions and cards. Moreover, Russia has forbidden international transfers out of the country in any other currency but the Russian ruble.
- Russia is also introducing additional restrictions – the Russian government has decided to introduce credit holidays for six months applicable to the loans issued before the 1st of March, 2022, following a similar practice during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- For more than a week since the escalation of the situation and the start of the ongoing war, TWINO has been able to successfully cover all the investor repayments. With the situation constantly changing, we have decided to temporarily stop the principal repayments of the Russian loans.
What does this mean for TWINO investors?
- These restrictions are temporary until the stabilization of the cross-border cooperation and do not affect investments in loans from any other regions.
- We, in cooperation with the Russian loan originator, are actively working to find new ways to ensure receiving payments from Russia. Moreover, please be informed that the interest repayments of the Russian loans will continue.
- The secondary market remains available for buying and selling Russian loans.
- Regardless of any upcoming events in Ukraine, TWINO will continue to work with the main goal to ensure the best interests of our investors:
- As quick as possible repayments of the existing investments;
- Ensuring timely interest payments.
TWINO investment platform has always found solutions to ensure repayments to investors regardless of the global market situation. During the seven years of our operations, investors have always received both the principal and interest repayments in full amount, and this is definitely something that we are proud of and are not planning to change. Furthermore, as a regulated entity there are stringent policies and procedures that we have to ensure and follow.
TWINO team hopes for your understanding during this truly unprecedented event.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
