National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository, and Interfax’s Center for Disclosing Corporate Information have announced that they have put the Single Disclosure Window into commercial operation. This product will give issuers the ability to disclose material facts via information agencies’ news feeds, and also to inform NSD’s Corporate Actions Center about corporate actions.
A full-scale launch of the Single Disclosure Window became possible due to regulatory documents amended by the Bank of Russia in August 2018 (Regulations 454-P and 546-P), which brought together requirements for formats and contents of material facts and corporate actions.
The Bank of Russia included the Single Disclosure Window project in the list of 2018 initiatives to improve regulations which had been adopted at the annual strategic session with financial market participants.
Eddie Astanin, Chairman of the Executive Board, NSD, said:
For NSD clients, it is very important to promptly receive validated and standardized information about issuers’ corporate actions and material facts. The Single Disclosure Window project resolves this issue, and also reduces issuers’ general expenses for information disclosure. Meanwhile, information stored in the central securities depository becomes reference data. We think that market participants and issuers will see the new service’s advantages and will be happy to use it on a permanent basis.
Vladimir Gerasimov, Executive Director, Interfax Group, added:
In fact, a major issuer publishes approximately 200-300 messages about material facts via news agencies’ feeds every year; one-third of them are related to corporate actions data which shall also go into the record-keeping system. Thus, the transition to the Single Disclosure Window means that issuers will substantially reduce their labor costs. The companies will be able to use a familiar and user-friendly interface via which they already disclose all up-to-date information and in which we will continue to make improvements taking issuers’ wishes and Bank of Russia requirements into account.
Five major issuers were involved in the service’s trial run; they offered their comments, which were then used to elaborate and adjust the Single Disclosure Window.
To implement the Single Disclosure Window for their clients, news agencies should ensure that information supplied through them will comply with CSD’s strict legal and technological requirements. Messages are transmitted to NSD’s Corporate Actions Center via protected channels in accordance with the ISO 20022 format using the Moscow Exchange’s EDI system, ensuring the legal value of all messages and allowing for them to be automatically processed.
Since 2003, Russian issuers, now numbering approximately 2,500, have disclosed significant facts (around 160 thousand per year) to stock market participants by sending messages via news agencies that are accredited by the Bank of Russia. Starting in 2016, issuers who have opened CSD nominee accounts and issuers for which NSD performs the functions of the centralized safekeeping of securities must publish messages about corporate actions, the contents of which nearly duplicate material facts’ content.