Russia ’s financial crisis has become so severe that President Vladimir Putin found himself reassuring investors late last week that the government would provide the support needed to the world’s largest oil company. With OAO Rosneft facing $21 billion of mostly foreign-currency debt maturities before April, Putin said the government will “definitely” help the company if necessary, according to an interview on the Kremlin’s website Nov. 14. After yields on Rosneft’s benchmark dollar bonds due in 2022 surged to a record 7.34 percent that day as oil sank to a four-year low, the statements may help restore investor confidence in the company, according to Commerzbank AG. “Putin’s comments tried to reassure investors about Rosneft’s strategic importance,” Apostolos Bantis, a credit analyst at the German lender, said in a telephone interview from Dubai. “This should alleviate investor concerns of a default-risk scenario.” Rosneft, which has more short-term debt than any […]