The European Union has requested the SWIFT network to exclude seven Russian banks, including VTB, the second establishment of the country. The Sberbank and Gazprombank giant, at the heart of the hydrocarbon trade, are spared.
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At the end of long hours of negotiations, the twenty-seven Member States of the European Union (EU) finally agreed, Wednesday, March 2, to exclude seven Russian banks from the SWIFT network, the platform form at the basis of international financial exchanges. It is, through this new train of financial sanctions, to weaken Moscow, in response to the invasion of Ukraine, partially paralyzing its banking system and blocking part of Russian exports and imports.
The final compromise has not been found without evil, and is less penalizing for Russia that some Western allies had initially been heard. The EU has asked the SWIFT financial network to exclude the three institutions already under European asset gel sanctions since February 24, namely Vneshecombank (VEB), considered as the financial arms of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Promsvyazbank (PSB), medium-sized institution related to the defense industry, and the Bank Rossiya, identified as the personal bank of the senior officials of the Russian Federation.
In addition, there are four financial institutions already sanctioned by Washington, the main one being the second Russian bank, VTB Bank, but also the Bank Otkritie, owned by the Central Bank of Russia since a bailout in 2017 (that the Italian banking group Unicredit has renounced buying in January because of the Ukrainian crisis), Novikombank, specializing in the financing of industry, oil and gas companies, and Sovcombank.
” different sensibilities within the European Union “
On the other hand, the Giant Sberbank, by far the largest Russian bank, with 47% of the country’s bank deposits, and Gazprombank, the energy branch of the energy giant, at the heart of the hydrocarbon trade, are spared. The twenty-seven did not want an extreme penalty.
Several European states, starting with Germany, Italy or Hungary, wished to defend their economic interests. Berlin, in particular, refused to exclude all Russian banks allowing him to buy gas and therefore wanted Sberbank and Gazprombank are not excluded from Swift. “Logically, there are different sensitivities within the European Union,” we justified in Bercy. The role of the French Presidency has been “to put all its weight in the balance to forge a consensus, taking into account the interests of each other”. Other countries, including Poland and Baltic States, on the other hand, lobby, according to the Bloomberg agency and the Wall Street Journal, so that more banks are concerned by the exclusion measure.
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