a very good question... is it all worth to just keeping access to the western banking system which they for sure would loose in the end wouldnt they bow down to the demands of the western oecd, fatf and such?
yes, as i mentioned, is this all worth it?
which are these? the western one or the other side? If russias assets can just be frozen, why would one wanna hang in there?
I know some people get bricked up thinking about BRICS but for the time being at least, a country has more to gain from complying with western standards on financial service regulations. Access to USD and to a lesser extent EUR, GBP, CHF, CAD, and so on are still vital for international trade. RUB and CNY can be useful, too. The neat thing is that if you comply with western standards, you already also comply with most of the rest of the world. It's an easy win.
This. Plus they are trying very hard to attract hedge funds, asset managers and a complete investment banking ecosystem in Dubai/Abu Dhabi as well. Their goal is to become an international finance center like NYC, London and Hong Kong. There are hundreds of hedge funds currently applying for a licence to operate in UAE.
A much better and more succinct way of putting it than my ramblings.
