The Russian financial infrastructure will work uninterrupted under the current conditions, and a replacement for the SWIFT system is envisaged. This was announced on February 28 by the head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina.
“We have been developing the internal financial infrastructure, so it will work smoothly. So, we have a financial messaging system (SPFS), which can replace SWIFT within the country,” she said.
Nabiullina also assured that the cards of international payment systems continue to work within the country.
“The national system of payment cards processes all domestic traffic on payment cards. Cards of international payment systems issued by banks that fell under sanctions continue to work within the country as usual,” said the head of the Bank of Russia.
On the morning of February 28, the Central Bank raised its key rate to 20%. The regulator explained that this decision will help maintain financial and price stability, protect citizens’ savings from depreciation, and also compensate for increased devaluation and inflation risks.
After that, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to ensure the preservation of all lending rates specified in loan agreements.
On February 21, the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR) Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to recognize the independence of the republics against the backdrop of the aggravation of the situation in the Donbass and increased shelling by the Ukrainian security forces. The corresponding decrees were signed in the evening of the same day. In the presence of the leaders of the republics, the President of the Russian Federation also signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and assistance.
On February 24, the Russian Federation launched an operation to protect Donbass. After that, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian Federation of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law, as well as severed diplomatic relations with Russia.
The EU countries, the USA, Japan and Canada began to impose new anti-Russian sanctions. So, on February 24, Washington imposed sanctions on a number of companies with state participation or organizations important for the economy and on “two companies with a predominance of private capital.” The list includes Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, Sberbank, Otkritie Bank, Sovcombank, VTB, Rosselkhozbank, Moscow Credit Bank (MKB) and Novikombank. Other countries have imposed sanctions against a number of Russian banks following the US.
The Bank of Russia then stated that the Russian regulator has the necessary resources and tools to maintain financial stability and ensure the operational continuity of the financial sector in the country.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv blames Moscow for the current situation.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
