The Bank of Russia adopted a decision on the procedure and terms of the “exchange” of blocked foreign securities of Russian investors
On December 11, 2023, the Russian Central Bank published on its official website the Decision of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia from December 8, 2023 on establishing the procedure and terms of interaction between professional securities market participants and their clients, as well as with trade organizers for the purpose of concluding transactions (operations) with foreign securities and transactions (operations) necessary for their execution (the “Decision”) in accordance with the Presidential Decree No. 844 from November 08, 2023.
The Decision determines the methods of sending information by depositories to depositors and specifies the sending of the following information:
about foreign securities and the date and terms of transactions (operations);
on the organizer of trades, as well as details of the depo account of the owner of the organizer of trades, where foreign securities purchased by non-residents will be credited;
on the possibility for certain categories of residents to alienate foreign securities with an aggregate value of no more than 100 thousand rubles;
on the procedure for submitting an order to a broker;
on the start and end dates for the organizer of trades to accept sellers' offers.
The Decision also determines a similar procedure for informing non-resident buyers by depositories.
In addition, the Decision determines the procedure for acceptance of orders by brokers and the conditions for their forwarding to the trade organizer, as well as the terms of making entries by depositories on the depo account and the content of such orders, in particular, the indication of removal of restrictions on the order, etc.
The Decision applies from the date of its publication, i.e., from December 11, 2023.
Formally, for Presidential Decree No. 844 to start functioning, it is still required that the Government Commission determines the terms and conditions of trading and transactions (operations).