"Central Banking Center" suspends Russia's membership

The Bank for International Settlements, the central bank for central banks around the world, announced Thursday the suspension of the Russian Central Bank, which would deepen Moscow's economic isolation.

The Swiss-based global financial institution, which links the central banks, said it was applying international sanctions against the Russian Central Bank.

"The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is following the international sanctions imposed on the Central Bank of Russia as appropriate and will not be a way to circumvent the sanctions," a spokeswoman told AFP.

"The Central Bank of Russia's access to all services, meetings, and other activities of the BIS has been suspended," it added.

The Bank of Russia has taken unprecedented measures, including capital controls, to prop up the ailing economy and the ruble.

The Russian Central Bank more than doubled the key interest rate, 20 percent, last week, as it sought to stem the ruble's bleeding, but to no avail.

The Russian currency has lost about 40% of its value since the beginning of the year.

In another sign of looming difficulties, the bank also asked lenders not to release their financial statements from February.

Russia and Ukraine failed to make a breakthrough on Thursday in their first high-level talks since the invasion of Moscow two weeks ago, amid international outrage over the bombing of a children's hospital that Kyiv said killed three people, including a young girl.

The Bank for International Settlements was established in Basel, Switzerland, in 1930, and is owned by 63 central banks, representing countries whose economies constitute about 95 percent of global GDP.

The Bank for International Settlements is where central bank governors meet to discuss key monetary policy issues.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news