SWIFT is an organization called Global Banking Financial Telecommunication Association, a private company and an international organization. It provides financial information transmission services for banks, financial institutions and enterprises all over the world. Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, banks and financial institutions all over the world exchange information among their peers through their safe and standardized services, thus completing financial transactions. SWIFT and CHIPS are called the two largest clearing systems in the world. It can generally be understood as ZFB and VX used by banks, financial institutions and enterprises all over the world.
SWIFT's messaging platform, products and services connect more than 1 1000 banks, government agencies, market infrastructure and enterprise users around the world, covering more than 200 countries and regions.
? SWIFT does not hold funds or manage accounts for customers, but helps global users to exchange standardized financial messages safely through reliable channels, thus supporting financial transactions in global and local markets and helping international trade and business activities.
? SWIFT is also committed to close cooperation between the entire financial community at the global and national levels, and works with it to monitor market practices and formulate unified standards. SWIFT has branches all over the world, and its business covers almost all financial centers.
Quick ban:
◆ SWIFT sanction means that SWIFT cuts off the connection between a financial institution or a financial institution in a certain country and the SWIFT system, so that financial information cannot be transmitted through the SWIFT system.
◆ At present, more than 65,438+0.65,438+0,000 financial institutions around the world use SWIFT, covering almost all financial centers in the world and becoming the mainstay of the world financial communication industry. If you need to "join" when using SWIFT, being kicked out of this system means that you can't use this system to settle transactions with other countries. Therefore, kicking out SWIFT is "financial impeachment", which is an extremely severe financial sanction. This means that these banks will not be able to communicate safely and effectively with overseas banks. Therefore, the economic and trade activities of the sanctioned countries have been greatly affected.
If world trade is firmly established in the dollar system, being kicked out of the SWIFT system means being abandoned by world trade.
Give an example to illustrate the seriousness of the Swift ban.
In 20 12, the United States and European countries sanctioned Iran and kicked four Iranian banks out of the SWIFT system, which directly led to a halving of Iran's foreign trade import and export volume. Once Russia is kicked out, it will interrupt most international trade and lead to a large amount of capital outflow. Personal deposits in Russian banks will also be frozen, and international credit cards will not be used normally in Russia.
Maria Shagina (a visiting scholar at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs) wrote an article last year: "SWIFT will terminate all international transactions, trigger currency fluctuations and lead to a large amount of capital outflows."
According to US media reports, the SWIFT ban will cut off Russia's connection with most international financial transactions, including the profits generated by exporting oil and natural gas, which account for more than 40% of Russia's income.
On the 26th local time, the United States and the European Union jointly issued a statement, deciding to exclude some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system and impose restrictions on the Russian central bank. When the news came out, the international financial market was in an uproar. These forces are mutual. The implementation of SWIT financial sanctions against Russia by the United States and Europe or a "double-edged sword" will only make the increasingly complex international financial situation more turbulent.