Russian Central Bank Preparing for SWIFT ‘Nuclear Option’

(Photo Credit: Ludvig12 via Creative Commons 4.0)

 

Smaller banks have been encouraged to establish secondary arrangements for processing bank card transactions.

Preparing for new U.S. sanctions “early next year” that will likely target Russia’s access to the SWIFT international banking system—something that was just described as a “nuclear option” against Moscow just earlier this week—the Bank of Russia has urged the country’s smaller banks to prepare for a “worst-case scenario.”

Russia, China, India Unveil New Gold Trading Network

Deputy Governors of the People’s Bank of China and Bank of Russia sign Memorandum on Gold Trading, Sochi, September 2017. Photo: Bank of Russia

 

One of the most notable events in Russia’s precious metals market calendar is the annual “Russian Bullion Market” conference. Formerly known as the Russian Bullion Awards, this conference, now in its 10th year, took place this year on Friday 24 November in Moscow. Among the speakers lined up, the most notable inclusion was probably Sergey Shvetsov, First Deputy Chairman of Russia’s central bank, the Bank of Russia.

In his speech, Shvetsov provided an update on an important development involving the Russian central bank in the worldwide gold market, and gave further insight into the continued importance of physical gold to the long term economic and strategic interests of the Russian Federation.

Firstly, in his speech Shvetsov confirmed that the BRICS group of countries are now in discussions to establish their own gold trading system. As a reminder, the 5 BRICS countries comprise the Russian Federation, China, India, South Africa and Brazil.

Putin’s Decade-Old Dream Realized as Russia to Price Its Own Oil

This is the beginning of the removal of the U.S. Dollar (and America) from the global system.

In the future, the price of precious metals such as gold and silver will be set by both China and Russia in their own markets, then expand globally as they eventually aim to take the power of setting global standards away from America. The U.S. keeps prices artificially low to mask the true state of its respective economy. Oil seems to be the first step in taking the U.S. Dollar out of how the commodity is priced.

Without the Petrodollar, there is no U.S. Dollar. Without the U.S. Dollar being used globally, there is no America as we know it today. it will become a third world nation.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the verge of realizing a decade-old dream: Russian oil priced in Russia.

The nation’s largest commodity exchange, whose chairman is Putin ally Igor Sechin, is courting international oil traders to join its emerging futures market. The goal is to increase revenue from Urals crude by disconnecting the price-setting mechanism from the world’s most-used Brent oil benchmark. Another aim is tomove away from quoting petroleum in U.S. dollars. 

If Russia is going to attract international participation in Russian-based pricing, the Kremlin will need to persuade traders it’s not simply trying to push prices up, some energy analysts said. The government is dependent on oil revenue to fund its budgets.

Russian Central Bank voids Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, Fitch ratings

What happens when a nation in retaliation refuses to recognize a universally accepted standard ratings agency? Stay tuned. Pandora’s box has been opened on yet another front. Full-blown economic warfare is in full motion.

 

The Central Bank of Russia will no longer use credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, or Moody’s that were assigned after March 1, 2014.

All credit ratings given to Russian companies and banks will now be at the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Bank, according to a press statement Monday. The regulator will assess whether or not the ratings made after March are accurate.

“According to the Bank of Russia Board of Directors’ decision, the rating date for credit institutions and their issued financial instruments, including securities, to implement Bank of Russia regulations, shall be 1 March 2014; as for other entities, listed in the ordinance, and their issued securities, this rating date shall be 1 December 2014,” the press release said.

Why is Putin buying gold?

Russian President Vladimir Putin is developing a taste for gold.

With all of its income from selling oil, Russia is diversifying its reserves by buying massive amounts of gold, said William Rhind, CEO of the World Gold Trust Services.

Of all the central banks that make their reserve actions public, Russia has been the “largest, most active” gold accumulator, he explained. Still, Rhind said, the “elephant in the room” is how much gold China is buying, as Beijing does not publish these figures.

Russian, Indian Central Banks Could Use National Currencies in Payments

MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Bank of Russia and the Reserve Bank of India have agreed to set up a working group to devise tools to use national currencies in bilateral payments, the Russian regulator said Wednesday.