In a note to clients on March 2, JPMorgan of the U.S. said that financial sanctions against Russia by the U.S., Europe, and Japan have "significantly increased" the likelihood of Russia defaulting on its dollar-denominated and other government bonds. The sanctions, which include a ban on dollar transactions with Russia's central bank, have become a "high hurdle" for interest and principal payments, and could cause turmoil in financial markets near payment deadlines, which have been intermittent since mid-March.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun