US President Joe Biden is seriously considering removing Russia from SWIFT, the highly secured network connecting thousands of financial institutions around the world, but has yet to make a final decision, according to several people familiar with his thinking.
The decision to launch the action has always been subject to approval by the European Union, which has been split in controversial debate over the action for weeks, and ultimately chose not to proceed this week.
But US officials and their EU counterparts have continued to weigh options, including sanctions to remove individual banks and entities, rather than the entire Russian economy, from the network, officials say.
The move would be considered the nuclear option when it comes to responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden and his aides have emphasized how complicated blocking Russia from SWIFT would be, noting that the US cannot act unilaterally. “That’s not the position the rest of Europe wants to take,” Biden told reporters on Thursday.
But since Biden’s press conference announced new sanctions against Russia for its unprovoked attack, the government appears to be moving closer to this position as other European allies have now backed it.
The government has discussed the matter with the Federal Reserve, which an official said would have an interest in any decision. And US officials are in talks with the European Union about a possible move.
A government official said additional sanctions are likely to follow if Kiev, the besieged Ukrainian capital, falls. But it wasn’t clear whether SWIFT would fall under that, or whether removing Russia from SWIFT could happen sooner.
A White House official told DailyExpertNews that “as the president and administration officials have made clear, we are focusing on coordinating with allies and partners to impose further charges on Putin for his war of choice,” but declined to comment further.
On Saturday, Italy said it would support measures to expel Russia from SWIFT after Prime Minister Mario Draghi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that “Italy fully supports the European Union’s line of sanctions against Russia, including those related to SWIFT, and will continue to do so.”
Draghi’s comments are particularly noteworthy given the Italian economy’s exposure to energy, but the primary opposition to taking the action came from Germany, officials say.
