It is not only the ejection from the SWIFT payment system that is currently making international money transfers more difficult. Access to its foreign exchange and gold reserves is also very limited for Russia. According to “Handelsblatt”, the Russian Ministry of Finance announced the transfer, but the recipients have not yet received anything.
However, there is a 30-day grace period in this case. Only when it expires is this considered an official default. A transfer with the plummeting ruble would be considered a “technical default”.
According to official figures, Moscow has 311 billion dollars (280 billion euros) in securities and 152 billion dollars (about 137 billion euros) in cash or deposits with foreign financial institutions.
So far, such a total failure has only happened once: in 1917 the ruling Bolsheviks declared that they would not recognize debts and other obligations from the tsarist era.
Such a default would also affect Austria: According to information from the National Bank, private individuals hold around 230 million euros in Russian securities directly and through funds.
