The largest Russian bank, Sberbank, announced on Tuesday that it operates normally despite being excluded from the international interbank system SWIFT, which is part of a new package of EU sanctions against Russia due to its attack on Ukraine.
Sberbank is operating as usual, and the exclusion from the international interbank system for information and payment transfers SWIFT does not change the current situation regarding international transactions, Sberbank’s press service stated, as reported by RIA Novosti.
– Sberbank is operating normally. The main restrictions are already in place. The disconnection from SWIFT does not change the current situation in international payments. Domestic transactions do not depend on SWIFT, and the bank will carry them out as standard – the statement said.
The exclusion of Sberbank from SWIFT was agreed upon as part of the sixth package of EU sanctions.
This package also includes a ban on the import of Russian oil delivered by ships and a ban on broadcasting for three Russian television stations.
A decision was also made to sanction individuals responsible for war crimes.
In early March, the European Union also decided to exclude the banks VTB, Rossia, Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvjazbank, Sovcombank, and the state corporation VEB from SWIFT.
More than 11,000 banks in almost all countries of the world are connected to SWIFT. Russia has its own financial messaging system, created by its central bank in response to the risks of possible exclusion of Russian banks from SWIFT.
