Alternative system message to SWIFT in the Bank of Russia

Elvira Nabiullina, President of the Central Bank of Russia, held a press conference after the extensive sanctions against Russia and made statements about the measures and regulations they took.

Stating that they will do what is necessary to meet the requirements of the households and importers in the local foreign exchange market, Nabiullina said, "We will take the measures we deem appropriate as long as necessary. The sale of securities owned by foreigners has been restricted, and we are ready to take all the necessary steps to provide support.

In addition, we have taken some more relaxing steps on the editing side. Some mechanisms will provide support under the new conditions, and we will also try to assist with foreign currency assets or payments. We will try to adapt to and support the new environment."

"We are ready to take additional loosening steps on provisioning"

Referring to the sanctions and measures taken by foreign banks, Nabiullina said, "We are ready to take additional easing steps in banks regarding provisioning. We have taken steps to set aside provisions for all loans in order to create capital buffers against the conjuncture. These measures will increase the capital of banks.

In such times, it is very important to provide support not only to banks but to everyone. The financial position of companies and households is worsening due to the sanctions. When we think about it at this point, banks should meet the needs of customers and do this without applying any penalties to loans."

"Banks are ready to restructure loans"

Emphasizing that the measures taken do not mean that the banks cannot examine the financial situations of their customers, Nabiullina said, "Loan payments are important. There is almost no loan that cannot be paid in the retail sector or that is in a bad spot on the mortgage side. I would like to underline that. Banks may not change the conditions of existing loans. interest can be continued.

We now know that some loans have been actively increased on the company side in recent years. We are assessing the risks. We think that the exposure of interest rate risk to loans is limited in general. We are aware that companies with high creditworthiness have high loans, but banks are ready to structure this type of loan."

"We will provide relief to banks on loan costs"

The experienced economist said that they will provide the necessary support so that banks do not act conservatively on credit. They are also ready to introduce a regulation that will bring relief on provisions. It is very important that credit flows to both households and businesses. In crisis conditions, banks tend to shift to a slightly more conservative side and slow down lending. We will give banks some more relief on the total cost of consumer loans.

Macroprudential buffers will be applied, and we will use these buffers for the riskiest loans. In the case of other loans, we will remove the buffers and provide the necessary support to the loans on the other side. Banks will continue to fulfill their responsibilities towards all customers. All transactions will remain open to customers.

FMS will be used as an alternative to SWIFT

We have provided regulatory relief and will review other relief measures so that all banks can fulfill their responsibilities to their customers. By establishing local infrastructure, we will ensure that operations continue smoothly.

We have a financial messaging system called FMS. This will replace SWIFT. Russian and foreign participants can also participate in it. Even if international sanctions are imposed on banks, the national payment system cards will continue to operate normally. "We will take all measures to ensure price stability and support the financial sector," she said.