Awaiting Govt., RBI guidelines on SWIFT transactions with Russian entities: PNB

On March 2, the EU prohibited certain Russian banks from accessing the SWIFT financial messaging system in view of Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine".

The country's second-largest bank Punjab National Bank (PNB) said it was awaiting advisory from the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank with regard to SWIFT-related transactions with Russian entities.

In view of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, several countries including the U.S., Canada and certain European nations have blocked some Russian banks from using SWIFT, a system that is used for global banking transactions.

"...we have not received any advisory from the RBI/Finance Ministry regarding SWIFT-related transactions with respect to Russia. Any action in this regard shall be taken after receipt of guidelines from RBI/Finance Ministry," PNB said in a response to queries on Russia-related transactions.

Meanwhile, sources said that India's largest lender State Bank of India has stopped processing transactions of Russian entities that have been sanctioned by the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

SBI is learnt to have issued a circular as it fears that any transaction with entities or sectors under sanction will invite sanctions on it as well. Russia is one of the biggest suppliers of defence products and equipment to India mostly under government-to-government contracts.

Bilateral trade between India and Russia stood at $9.4 billion so far this fiscal year, against $8.1 billion in 2020-21.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is the world's main banking messaging service which links around 11,000 banks and institutions in more than 200 countries, including India.