Russia Touts SWIFT Alternative, But Will Keep Its Members Secret

(Bloomberg) — A day after Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina touted the country’s alternative to the SWIFT financial-messaging service, the regulator said it will no longer publicly disclose who participates.

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U.S. and European sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have cut several major banks off from SWIFT. But Nabiullina told parliament Monday that 52 institutions from 12 countries are participating. Until recently, the list was posted on the central bank’s website.

“Under the current circumstances we decided not to disclose on the website the list of companies connected to the system,” the press service said. “The users of the system can still see the list.”

Russia set up the system in 2014 after the first waves of sanctions over Ukraine. Nabiullina told legislators Tuesday that the central bank will continue its push to add new members, according to Interfax.

“Until there was such a threat of being cut off from SWIFT, foreign partners weren’t in much of a rush to join, but now we expect their readiness to be greater,” she said.

The list of participants is only one of several items that have disappeared from the central bank’s website in the weeks since the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, which triggered sanctions on the Bank of Russia itself.

On Tuesday, the central bank said that it will no longer publish quarterly data on the schedule for repayments of foreign debt. Previously, it suspended release of some detailed information on its reserves.