September 12 2023 |, By, Mesirow Currency Management, Russia confronts the US dollar with so-so results, We’ve written about the US dollar dominance in global commerce and finance Many nations chafe under that global supremacy and countries such as China and Russia want to diminish the power of the US dollar The Ukraine – Russia conflict however has illustrated the difficulties trading when the US currency is unavailable because of economic sanctions Without the dollar Russia has found it…, Two-front war and the ruble, Russia is fighting a two-front war The first is the armed conflict against Ukraine That venture is faring poorly Sources estimate its troops under attack in a Ukraine counteroffensive have lost nearly 300000 killed or wounded from February 2022 to August 2023 The second front is an economic one Russia is battling a series of sanctions levied by a US-led coalition in response to the Ukraine…, End run around the US dollar, Some of the nations that abstained from the initial condemnation of the invasion and that did not participate in the sanctions began to trade with Russia supplying electronics machinery and other products and buying Russian energy products China and India have supported Russia with energy purchases in currencies other than US dollars Mostly that’s been Chinese yuan for about $603 billion in oil…, Future central bank digital currency, Russia has also sought to elude the omnipresent US dollar through the issuance of a central bank digital currency a digital form of a government-issued currency Russia had intended to launch a CBDC pilot program in April 2023 but that program was delayed while awaiting legislation authorizing the digital currency President Putin signed that bill on July 24 The long-range hope is that CBDCs can be…, Hey – things aren’t so bad, While Russia finds the sanctions and export situation challenging the nation’s economy is coping In early July Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported that gross domestic product for 2023 may exceed 2 percent The International Monetary Fund expects the Russian economy to grow 15 percent this year If Russia is successful in neutralizing the US-led sanctions other nations may be encouraged to…, Explore, USD and the BRICS threat, Sanctions on Russia lead to a call for a new currency to compete with the USD Is a common currency likely LEARN MORE, T+1 securities settlement cycle, Same-day security settlement is moving closer to reality Is the FX market ready LEARN MORE

Anand Akula is a Senior Technology Consultant in Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions Anand has 15 years of experience in building software products specifically targeted to the retirement industry and investment management Prior to working at Mesirow he worked as a Full Stack Software Consultant building a proprietary product at BP to manage defined benefit and defined contribution plans which helped him…

Andy Bynam is a Managing Director in Mesirow Public Finance He focuses on servicing municipal clients primarily in the State of Texas as well as other states across the South and mid-Atlantic Andy has more than 30 years of public finance experience including bond underwriting financial products and advisory work Prior to joining Mesirow in 2012 he was a Director of Public Finance at Citigroup…

Andrew Carolus is a Managing Director in Mesirow Investment Banking He is responsible for developing key relationships leading deal teams throughout the transaction process and providing advisory services on middle-market M&A assignments within the aerospace and defense and diversified industrials sectors Andrew has more than 25 years of investment banking experience Prior to joining Mesirow…

Andrew Hitt is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager in Mesirow Currency Management He is a member of the Portfolio Management team responsible for managing client portfolios as well as developing custom solutions for clients Prior to joining Mesirow Andrew worked in trade support and customer service roles for several broker-dealers in Chicago   Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts…

Andrew Minkus is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Mesirow Credit Tenant Lease (CTL and Structured Debt Products He drives strategic growth initiatives across the group’s product offerings and specializes in structuring complex financing solutions including cross-border and cross-currency CTLs and direct synthetic CTLs Andrew also played a key role in establishing the group’s social…

Andrew Mutlu is a Vice President and Wealth Advisor in Mesirow Wealth Management He specializes in helping individuals families and business owners achieve their goals by creating customized financial and retirement plans in conjunction with team investment strategies that are uniquely tailored to fit their needs Andrew has 12 years of experience in the financial services industry Before joining…