Switzerland Adopts EU Sanctions: Banking Sanctions Update for June 12-18, 2022
6/10/2022
Switzerland announced Friday it had adopted new EU sanctions against Belarus and Russia, as the Federal Council also imposed new financial and travel sanctions on 100 individuals and entities, including oligarch Aleksandra Melnichenko.
According to the Global Banking & Finance Review, “The Swiss list of sanctioned individuals and entities, which is the same as the European Union’s, includes military personnel held responsible for atrocities committed in Bucha, individuals active in the fields of politics and disinformation and certain oligarchs and their family members. The council also approved the exclusion of four new Russian and Belarusian banks, including Sberbank, Russia’s largest, from the SWIFT transaction system was also approved.”
Last week, the European Union’s sixth round of sanctions against Russia banned Sberbank from the global SWIFT messaging system. The EU also banned most Russian oil imports, and prohibited accounting, auditing and consultancy services to Russian entities.
But despite the increased sanctions pressure, there are signs that Russia’s economy is stabilizing. On Friday, Russia’s central bank cut its key interest rate to the level it was at when the country invaded Ukraine.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “The Bank of Russia Friday lowered its key interest rate to 9.5% from 11%, the fourth cut since early April. That series of rate cuts has reversed a doubling of the key rate in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Related sanctions news:
- Russian Central Bank to Scrutinize Banks' Plans for Fees on FX Accounts (Reuters)
- Depositary Receipt Holders of Russia’s Sberbank, VTB Face Conversion Headache (Global Banking & Finance Review)
- Business Losses From Russia Top $59 Billion as Sanctions Hit (Wall Street Journal)