The EU has implemented its tenth sanctions package against Russia. The bloc has excluded three more lenders from the Swift payments messaging system, including Tinkoff Bank, further reducing financial conduits between Russia and the west.
The impact of sanctions has been more limited than western governments had hoped, reflecting the ability of Russia to continue selling oil and gas. But financial restrictions are trapping growing sums of Russian capital uselessly abroad.
Tinkoff has suspended trading in euros. Currency dealing has become hugely lucrative for Russian banks. With about half of its reserve assets frozen, Russia’s central bank has adopted measures to support the rouble, which now lingers at a 10-month low. These include mandatory conversion of a portion of incoming euros and dollars at steep charges, typically about one-tenth of the value of the transaction.