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Editor’s blogMarch 9 2015

Swift’s Russian board director is not a political decision

The addition of a Russian seat on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication's board of directors should not be interpreted as a political move by the organisation.
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With the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) under pressure to throw Russia off the system as part of western sanctions against the country, the news that Russia has been given a seat on the Swift board is open to misinterpretation.

But, the promotion of Russia from being represented under one of three amalgamated seats on the 25-seat board to having its own director has nothing to do with politics and nothing to do with the tensions over Russia’s involvement in Ukraine. Board seat allocation is a purely mechanical process based on traffic volumes.

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