Swift Wars II - Sanctions Ratcheted Up

The Telegraph reports that the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada have agreed to "intensify targeted sanctions to increase the costs of Russia's actions" unless the Kremlin takes immediate steps to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.

The G7 is for now holding back Iranian-style "stage 3" sanctions against the whole Russian banking system, mining industry, or the oil and gas nexus. This nuclear option will be deployed only if Russia escalates from black operations in Eastern Ukraine to an outright invasion, said Alastair Newton, head of political risk at Nomura.

Maybe so in public.

However, behind the scenes the UST will already be pressuring banks and financial institutions to "review" their dealings with Russia. Indeed some institutions are so nervous about UST disapproval that they act before being approached, step forward JPMorgan.