Turkish State Banks Set to Exit Russia’s Mir on US Warning
- Three state lenders decided to leave Russian payment system
- Decision shows US sanctions’ influence on third parties
A Halkbank branch in Istanbul, Turkey.
Photographer: Nicole Tung/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Turkish state banks are planning to exit a Russian payment system, a dramatic example of how US secondary sanctions are forcing countries to distance themselves from Moscow.
The three lenders, the only ones in Turkey still processing transactions made with Russia’s Mir cards, decided on Tuesday to pull out, a senior Turkish official said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The lira reversed losses to close slightly higher after the news.