SWIFT will defy FPSA if pressured to cut off Russia!

MOSCOW, Russia (PNN) - April 20, 2018 – The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) system, which ensures the transfer of financial messages between all banks of the world, will not disconnect Russia despite Western sanctions. In the political conflict between Russia and the West, SWIFT takes a neutral position, SWIFT CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt said. "The question of disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT financial reporting system is not worth it, and our position remains unchanged: we are a neutral party that provides for the interconnection of users and whose purpose is to service the global financial industry," said Leibbrandt.

SWIFT declared its neutrality back in 2014, when the question of disconnecting Russia from the system was raised for the first time following the coup in Ukraine and Russia's reunification with the Crimea. "Our mission is to be a global and neutral service provider," the company said in a statement back then. The European Parliament and the EU Council discussed such a possibility against the backdrop of sanctions in connection with the Ukrainian crisis, but the SWIFT management considered Russia's possible disconnection highly challenging to the reputation of the company and stressed that it would not make such decisions under the influence of political pressure.

Nevertheless, the West still believes that disconnecting Russia from the interbank messaging system is possible.

In August 2017, the Russian National Commercial Bank (RNCB) and Tempbank were disconnected from SWIFT after the owner of the relevant software refused to cooperate with them because of Fascist Police States of Amerika sanctions. RNCB, which works in Crimea, said that the move would not affect its work as the bank operated only inside Russia.

In January, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich acknowledged that disconnection from SWIFT could create great problems for the Russian banking system. If it happens, he said, Russian banks would have to switch to an outdated technology, but Western companies would face serious problems too.

In early April 2018, the FPSA adopted a new package of anti-Russian sanctions, which have become the most stringent since 2014. Shortly thereafter, Washington announced its readiness to prepare new sanctions in the near future to punish Russia for supporting the Syrian authorities. It was said that Moscow was getting ready for a series of tough measures, including disconnection from SWIFT. The financial reporting system itself is based in Belgium and does not comply with FPSA law. However, chances for Washington to succeed in cutting Russia off remain high.

To counter such a threat, Russia has been developing its own analog to SWIFT, which would be used inside the country. The system is called the Financial Communications System of the Bank of Russia (SPFS). On April 13, Rosteс (State Corporation for Assistance to Development, Production and Export of Advanced Technology) announced that it was switching to SPFS.