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European Union ambassadors have agreed to exclude seven Russian banks from the SWIFT system, but spared Sberbank and a bank part-owned by Russian Gazprom.
VTB Bank PJSC and Bank Rossiya are among the banks that face a ban from the messaging system that enables trillions of dollars’ worth of transactions around the world.
The other institutions included on the EU list are Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank PJSC, Sovcombank PJSC, and VEB.RF.
Some countries, including Poland, had pushed for more banks to be included in the measure, as per Bloomberg. The measures will only come into force 10 days after adoption. One major member had asked for 30 days. While unlikely, the list could still be tweaked before it formally comes into force.
The plan to boot some Russian banks off the SWIFT messaging system was announced in a joint statement by the European Commission, US, France, Germany, Italy, UK, and Canada.
According to Bloomberg, the absence of Sberbank PJSC and Gazprombank shows the level of concern over the consequences for Europe from a financial isolation of Russia spilling over into the global economy, especially when it comes to energy supplies.
SWIFT, which delivers secure messages among more than 11,000 financial institutions and companies, is central to the global financial system and an inability to access it could cause significant economic damage. Russia has developed its own financial messaging system, but it has fewer than 400 financial institutions and few foreign firms.
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