The Bank of Russian more than doubled its bank rate earlier today to 20%, from 9.5%, as the central bank stepped in to try and prevent a currency crisis after the US and the West imposed stringent sanctions on the country, including a partial expulsion from the SWIFT payment system. A statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the removal of certain Russian banks from the system would ‘stop them from operating worldwide and effectively block Russian exports and imports’ before adding that the action would ‘paralyze the assets of Russia’s central bank…and make it impossible for them to liquidate its assets’.
