Banking Briefing: Major Russian banks excluded from SWIFT
- The big news this week is that major Russian banks have been excluded from SWIFT as part of the US and allies’ sanctions against Russia.
- In the background, we’ve also got experts’ take on what’s happening in cannabis banking and some new numbers in the world of digital account opening.
As Russia wages war on Ukraine, the US, Canada, and EU allies are cutting off major Russian banks from interbank messaging system SWIFT.
SWIFT currently functions as the interbank messaging system among over 11,000 banks in more than 2,000 countries.
The move means Russia will be cut off from a significant portion of the global financial system. The major banks in the country won’t be able to communicate easily with financial institutions in other countries.
No country has been cut off from SWIFT since Iran in 2014, following the progress behind Tehran’s nuclear program. The move resulted in the country losing 30% of its foreign trade, according to the BBC.
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