JPMorgan Halts Grain Payments for Russia, Prompting Concerns

Russia has accused JPMorgan of halting the processing of payments for the Russian Agricultural Bank, as Moscow demands concrete actions from the US to facilitate the export of Russian grain and fertilizer. Russia has a list of demands that need to be met before it will return to a deal that allowed safe Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain. One of the key requirements is the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT international payments system. While the US has promised to ensure Russia's food exports if the Black Sea grain deal is revived, JPMorgan's cooperation in processing Russian grain export payments has ceased.