The Russian government has paid Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) interest in US dollars for a bond that matured on Wednesday last week, indicating that the life insurer’s exposure to Russian bonds might be lower than expected, the company told an investors’ conference in Taipei. The announcement came amid investor concerns that Russia might default on bonds held by the insurer, after Moscow said it would pay bondholders with rubles instead of US dollars, regardless of the terms of the bonds. “The payment in US dollars was surprising, as we were not expecting any interest payment for the Russian bonds within