At the meeting on April 24, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Russia decided to lower the key rate to 14.5% per annum. This marks the eighth consecutive easing of monetary policy.
Ahead of the Central Bank meeting, the indexes of the Russian bond market surged, continuing to react positively to the release of favorable macro data and the regulator's rhetoric.
At the same time, the current situation in the bond market is not only a window of opportunity but also a zone of increased turbulence, analysts note. 'RBC Investments' together with experts analyzed which papers still offer the possibility to yield above the key rate.
What yield do bonds provide
The government bond index RGBI showed restrained dynamics in the first half of April, settling at 119 points. Before the Central Bank meeting, the index transitioned to sharp growth, managing to surpass 121 points for the first time since September last year. However, the regulator's decision to lower the rate by 50 b.p. had a rather negative market reaction, and RGBI corrected back to previous values.
As of the end of the trading session on April 30, the index was at 119.7 points, and its yield was 14.17%.
The corporate bond index RUCBCPNS held steady at 101 points for most of the month, but right after the key rate drop, it managed to surpass 102 points. Its yield as of April 30 was 15.03% per annum. The duration of the bonds included in the index is from one year.
Which papers yield above the key rate: expert opinions
The simplest and safest way to get a yield above the key rate is through floaters, believes Ivan Taskin, head of the fixed-income analytics department at Vector Capital. Among low-risk floaters, he mentioned the issues Gazpnf5P3R and RostelP21R.
The yield of a significant number of blue chips has notably decreased recently, and many of them are already trading below the key rate, noted Vladimir Malinovsky, chief analyst at the investment analytics center of Rosgosstrakh Life.
'Higher yields are offered by first and second echelon papers, but the selection among them should be approached more carefully, picking the highest quality issuers. At the same time, a certain share in the portfolio, in our view, should remain with floaters, among which it's still possible to find 'good' names with a real spread to the key rate of about 170-220 b.p.,' he added.
Among fixed coupon bonds whose yields exceed the key rate, Vladimir Malinovsky named the issues IKS5Fin3P7, Europln1R9, and Medsi 1P02. Among floaters, his favorites remain the bonds of 'Auto Finance Bank', for instance, issue AFBANK1R11.
The uniqueness of the current moment is that practically the entire long-term segment of the OFZ curve is trading at yields above the 'key', notes Alexey Kovalev, head of debt market analysis at the Finam financial group. In his opinion, buying 'longs' allows for a competitive yield, for example, over the horizon of a year even in the absence of any progress in the normalization of monetary policy.
Analyst 'Finam' Nikita Borodanov added that for more predictable cash flows, investors may also consider corporate bonds rated AAA/AA-, and in the current market, it's better to stick with companies that do not exceed the second echelon. Among issuers, he highlighted 'Atomenergoprom', RZD, 'Selectel', and 'NovaBev Group'.
Analyst 'Digit Broker' Egor Zinovyev pointed out reliable corporate borrowers with yields above the key rate, naming MTS, GTLK, and Magnit.
Top 10 bonds with high yield
'RBC Investments' compiled a selection of ten corporate bonds with yields above the key rate:
The ranking selected issuers with a credit rating of the company/issue no lower than A+ on the national scale for the Russian Federation, assigned by at least one of the accredited agencies - NKR, AKRA, 'Expert RA', NRA;
issues with a duration of at least 182 days and up to three years;
with fixed coupon yields;
with high and medium liquidity levels;
the yield and price are stated according to data from the Moscow Exchange as the yield and price from the last trade on May 1, 2026;
the accrued coupon income (ACI) is stated as of May 1, 2026.
1. 'Sinara - Transport Machines', bond issue 001Р-04 (STM 1P4)
2. AFC 'System', bond issue 001P-09 (System1P9)
3. 'R-Vision', bond issue 001P-02 (R-Vision 2)
4. KAMAZ, bond issue BO-P20 (KAMAZ BP20)
5. Russian Post, bond issue BO-001P-05 (PostRB1P5)
6. Seligdar, bond issue 001Р-04 (Seligdar4P)
7. 'EcoNiva', bond issue 001Р-01 (EcoNiv1R01)
8. 'Inarctica', bond issue 002Р-01 (Inarct2R1)
9. A101, bond issue BO-001P-02 (A101 1P02)
10. GTLK, bond issue 002P-08 (GTLK 2P-08)