Discounts applied upon liquidation of shares (underlying ADRs)

After the liquidation of the Sberbank shares underlying the ADR-program, various investors seem to wonder what the background is of this discount. Decree No. 81 of the President of the Russian Federation dated March 1, 2022, "On Additional Temporary Economic Measures to Ensure the Financial Stability of the Russian Federation" (Decree No. 81; https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_410578/ ) established a special procedure for the execution of transactions involving securities between residents of the Russian Federation and "persons of foreign states committing unfriendly acts". According to the general rule stipulated by Decree No. 81, transactions involving securities between residents of the Russian Federation and "unfriendly persons" are only possible with the permission of the Government Commission for the Control of Foreign Investment in the Russian Federation (the Government Commission). The minutes of the Government Commission meeting of th...

Euroclear provided more information on the release of funds

We earlier reported on the information the Clearstream released in their annual report. Euroclear has now too reported on this matter in their annual report (attached, p. 190). We'll quote the relevant part:

"As of year-end 2024, Euroclear Bank holds amounts on restricted C- and I-accounts recognised off-balance sheet (see Notes II and III). These restricted accounts were opened unilaterally by NSD in 2023 in the name of Euroclear Bank as countermeasure to the interantional sanctions imposed. The amounts held on the restricted C- and I-accounts have significantly decreased and amount to resprectively to RUB 41.9 billion (0.4 billion €-equivalent) and RUB 9.7 billion (0.1 billion €-equivalent), compared to RUB 262 billion (2.6 billion €-equivalent) and RUB 19 billion (0.2 billion €-equivalent) last year.

Between April and September 2024, Euroclear Bank's type C-account has been seized or debited on several occasions following Russian decrees for an amount of approximately 2.8 billion €-equivalent for the benefit of NSD's sanctioned clients. These clients are consequently no longer entitled to the balance blocked in Euroclear Bank and these balances could potentially serve to compensate the affected clients if the competent authorities provide the authorisation to release these amounts. NSD I-accounts balances have decreased as NSD has paid out some of the underlying to bondholders outside of Euroclear Bank in RUB.

The EU has introduced in December a loss recovery and no liability clause to its Russian sanctions regime now allowing the competent authority of a Member State to authorise the release of cash balances frozen by a CSD and attributable to the National Settlement Depository (NSD) under certain conditions. Essentially, this new clause allows the Belgian Ministry of Finance to authorise Euroclear Bank to debit NSD's account with the amounts that have been taken from Euroclear Bank's accounts with NSD following Russian court decisions or in application of Russian countermeasures, so that Euroclear Bank can compensate its Participants. Euroclear Bank will only be able to pay out the compensation amounts once the Belgian Ministry of Finance has provided its authorisation."