BBG: Biden Wants Plan On Tapping Frozen Russian Assets By G7 Summit

Bloomberg reporting that US President Joe Biden wants G7 countries to make progress on a plan to tap frozen Russian sovereign assets to aid Ukraine by the G7 Leaders Summit in Italy in June.

• BBG notes: "G-7 officials have been discussing options to use the $280 billion of immobilized Russian Central Bank assets, including using the money as collateral to raise debt or issuing guarantees against the frozen funds, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity."
• Calls for using the funds, which are mostly frozen in European capitals, have intensified in recent weeks as a Plan B to cover Ukraine's needs while additional US aid remains stalled in Congress.
• Although the Biden administration backs the proposal, some European leaders have expressed concerns over the legality of such a seizure and, according to BBG, worry about "the potential impact on financial stability and the euro’s status as a reserve currency."
• French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Wednesday after a G20 finance ministers meeting in Brazil where US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen advocated for the proposal: “We don’t have the legal basis to seize the Russian assets now."
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday argued that profits generated by the frozen assets, which totaled around USD$4.8 billion last year, should be used to procure weapons for Ukraine but stopped short of calling for a broader seizure of the assets.