SWIFT international payments agreement, an economic weapon

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

What Petrodollar?
After Cameron's failed threat to cut SWIFT payments to Russia...
Russia, China To Create SWIFT Alternative
http://t.co/djcHmYa0Xn

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

SWIFT banking system would mean ‘war’ – head of VTB
December 04, 2014 09:33

http://rt.com/business/211291-swift-banking-russia-vtb/

VTB Bank President and CEO Andrei Kostin (RIA Novosti/Aleksey Nikolskyi)
Excluding Russia from the global SWIFT banking transactions system is another form of sanctions and would mean “war,” said Andrey Kostin, head of VTB Russia’s second largest bank, adding that should it happen Russia has a “Plan B.”
"In my personal opinion, if such a sanction is introduced it would mean war," Kostin said in an interview with Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper. If Russian banks no longer have access to SWIFT, the American ambassador would leave Moscow the same day, he said.
Kostin added that the banking system is highly dependent on the dollar and euro, and is the most vulnerable part of the Russian economy. However, he said Russia has an alternative should the SWIFT system be no longer available to Russia. Last month the Bank of Russia said it’s going to launch an alternative for financial transactions in May 2015.
READ MORE: Russia to launch alternative to SWIFT bank transaction system in spring 2015