EU Approves Banning Transactions With Russian Central Bank (2)

European Union foreign affairs ministers approved banning all transactions with the Russian central bank, according to officials familiar with the decision.

The move, which is part of an effort to isolate Moscow’s economy and financial system, paves the way for the measure to be adopted as soon as Sunday evening, said the officials, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. Russia has about $640 billion in reserves.

A decision to penalize Russia’s central bank and exclude some Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, used for trillions of dollars worth of transactions around the world, was ...