Central Bank of Russia Braces for Turmoil With Nonresident Trading Ban

Nonresident holders of Russian equities won't be able to liquidate their holdings, the Central Bank of Russia announced on Monday, effectively banning foreign trading hours before the market is set to open.

• Nonresident traders will likely be looking to limit or eliminate their exposure to the sanctioned economy, but are going to find that impossible for the time being.
• The central bank delayed trading as it worked behind the scenes to assess the impact of the sanctions placed on the country. The currency markets opened Monday with the ruble dropping 40% against the dollar. A decision will soon be made on whether the equities market will open for the day.
• The European Union has committed to removing Russia from the SWIFT interbank messaging network, along with the U.S., U.K. and Canada. South Korea announced on Monday that it would also ban the export of certain strategic items to Russia, along with banning its banks from transacting with Russia via SWIFT.
• Over the weekend, the U.S., EU, U.K. and Canada added Russian President Vladimir Putin to their sanctions lists.