Which Banks Will Be Excluded from Swift and to What Extent... Authorities and Financial Sector on Alert

Concerns Over International Remittance Blockade... Response Team Formed to Closely Monitor Situation

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] As the United States and other Western countries have decided to expel Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), financial authorities and banks are on high alert. If the banks to be expelled are confirmed, there are growing concerns that international remittances for Korean companies trading with Russia and nationals residing locally could be blocked.

On the 28th, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced that it is closely monitoring whether the banks subject to SWIFT expulsion will be confirmed. An FSC official said, "Since the West has stated that they will expel ‘selected’ Russian banks from SWIFT, the impact can be assessed and countermeasures prepared depending on how many banks are expelled," adding, "It is known that the West is forming a task force (TF) to finalize the sanctioned institutions and begin freezing measures, so we are closely watching the situation."

Domestic banks have also formed response teams related to the Ukraine crisis and are monitoring the situation carefully. They plan to operate foreign exchange operations according to filtering of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list, which is added by U.S. executive orders.

A KB Kookmin Bank official said, "So far, only declarations to exclude Russia from SWIFT have been made, and without an actual list of banks, it is difficult to take any measures," adding, "Once the final list is confirmed, processes will proceed accordingly." Domestic banks have already suspended transactions with Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) banks announced earlier. These include Russia’s largest state-owned bank VEB, defense-support special bank PSB, and commercial banks VTB, Otkritie Bank, Novikombank, and Sovcombank.

A Woori Bank official explained, "Once the banks subject to SWIFT expulsion are announced, we will explore all alternatives to minimize customer damage." Shinhan Bank has formed a response team related to the Ukraine crisis since the 25th and is providing guidance at branches on precautions such as refraining from transactions with Russia and Ukraine. Hana Bank is also monitoring sanctioned banks such as those on the SDN list among Russian local banks and maintains a hotline with major companies operating locally.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.