7 Russian banks barred for now from SWIFT system – Times of India

MUMBAI: The ban on Russian lenders from the SWIFT financial messaging system has been limited to seven banks that are connected to the government and have a direct link with the defence sector. Bankers said that there is no blanket ban as feared earlier and it now appeared that payments could take place through some banks.
The banks excluded from the system in the initial list are Russia’s second-largest bank VTB, Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank and VEB. SWIFT has allowed the banks 10 days to conclude transactions already in the pipeline.
More banks are likely to be added to the list and the total number excluded may be around 25, including subsidiaries. However, it is now clear that some banks will continue to be allowed to route transactions.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, and Gazprombank, which are used to route payments for gas exports to Europe, have been kept outside the ban. On Tuesday, UK’s treasury had announced that it was adding Sberbank to the list of Russian entities sanctioned over the Ukraine invasion. The Russian lender on Wednesday announced that it was exiting the European markets in the wake of large cash outflows. In India, Sberbank has a branch at Barakhamba Road in Delhi.