On 16 April 2015 Eddie Astanin, Chairman of the Executive Board of National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository, has been elected as a candidate for the Board of Directors of the international SWIFT system by Russia financial institutions which are SWIFT members.
The Board of Directors of SWIFT includes 25 members representing countries with the biggest SWIFT message traffic. The Board is elected for a three year term at the annual general meeting (AGM) of SWIFT participants. The AGM which will approve the new members of the Board of Directors will be held 11 June in La Hulpe (Belgium).
The functions of the Board of Directors include strategic management and the oversight of the SWIFT Executive Committee which is responsible for day-to-day management.
Matthieu de Heering, head of Russia CIS and Mongolia, SWIFT, stated:
"I am delighted that the Russian SWIFT community has selected a respected leader in the financial markets, and representative of a strong SWIFT supporter, in Eddie Astanin, who will now go through the SWIFT Board and SWIFT AGM approval procedure."
Roman Chernov, Executive Director of ROSSWIFT, pointed out: “The fact that Russia is now entitled to propose its representative to the Board of such a respectful organization as SWIFT is the logical consequence of 20 years of activity of our Association. It is remarkable that during the year of our 20th anniversary and despite a complex geopolitical situation, our community is getting the opportunity to directly contribute to SWIFT’s strategy. I am happy to note that the candidate to SWIFT’s Board is the well-respected leader in the financial market, head of Russia’s preeminent securities market infrastructure, and member of ROSSWIFT Steering Committee, Eddie Astanin. On behalf of the Russian SWIFT community, I would like to congratulate Eddie and wish him success with the election to SWIFT’s Board."
Eddie Astanin, Chairman of the Executive Board, NSD, said: “In 2015, for the first time in history, a representative of Russia will join the highest executive body of SWIFT, one of the major providers of communications services in the financial markets. This decision is a great honor and responsibility for me. I thank Russian users of SWIFT for their trust and will do all my best to justify it. Participation on the Board of Directors will create new opportunities for taking account of Russian users’ interests in the development of SWIFT and for the promotion of its new services here for the benefit of the Russian financial market's development.”