Does SWIFT comply with all sanctions laws?

Yes. SWIFT complies fully with all applicable sanctions laws. Responsibility for ensuring that individual financial transactions comply with sanctions laws, however, rests with the financial institutions handling them, and their competent authorities. SWIFT is only a messaging service provider and has no involvement in or control over the underlying financial transactions that are mentioned by its financial institutional customers in their messages.

Does SWIFT expel banks?

SWIFT is neutral. The Company is set up and operated for the collective benefit of its Shareholders, for the study, creation, utilisation and operation of the means necessary for sugar daddy cleveland the telecommunication, transmission and routing of private, confidential and proprietary financial messages.

As a neutral utility with a global systemic character, SWIFT plays a pivotal role in supporting the global economy through its provision of secure financial messaging services. We always act in the interests of the entire member community and in keeping with our mission of supporting the resilience and integrity of the global financial system.

Any organisation may be considered for admission as a Shareholder of the Company (�Shareholder�) which, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, i) is involved in the same type of business as the other Shareholders, and ii) is involved in financial message transmission.

SWIFT Shareholders are also SWIFT Users. Any other organisation may be permitted to become a User (without being a Shareholder) to make use of the services of the Company, provided that it complies with the firm’s eligibility criteria.

SWIFT has defined a number of SWIFT User categories. The generic eligibility criteria for each User category are approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders and are complemented by applicable local rules and regulations from the nation of each applicant. Any organisation that wishes to apply to become a SWIFT User must comply, and ensure continued compliance, with these eligibility criteria, as well as their local applicable rules and regulations.

As a cooperative, the company’s mission is to act and operate in the interest of its entire member community, reflecting the global membership of SWIFT. As a utility with a systemic global character, SWIFT has no authority to make sanctions decisions. Any decision to impose or to lift sanctions on countries or individual entities rests solely with the competent government bodies and legislators.

Whilst sanctions are imposed independently in different jurisdictions around the world, SWIFT cannot arbitrarily choose which jurisdiction’s sanction regime to follow. Being incorporated under Belgian law it must instead comply with related EU regulation, as confirmed by the Belgian government.

In , pursuant to international and multilateral action to intensify financial sanctions against Iran, SWIFT was exceptionally prohibited under EU Regulation from providing financial messaging services to EU-sanctioned Iranian banks. SWIFT is incorporated under Belgian law and had to comply with this regulation as confirmed by its home country government. SWIFT implemented the regulatory obligation by disconnecting the related EU-sanctioned Iranian banks. In many of the affected banks were de-listed by the EU, and were subsequently reconnected to SWIFT.

The responsibility of SWIFT with regard to international financial sanctions has always been to help our Users in meeting their responsibilities to comply with national and international legislation, while supporting the resilience and integrity of the global financial system as a global and neutral service provider

In exceptional circumstances, and where the interest of the stability and integrity of the wider global financial system are at risk, SWIFT may also need to restrict customers’ access to the network. In an isolated event in SWIFT thus suspended certain Iranian banks’ access to the messaging system. This step, while regrettable, was taken in the interest of the stability and integrity of the wider global financial system, and based on an assessment of the economic situation.