OREANDA-NEWS. April 14, 2010.  "The National Depository Center" (Closed Joint Stock Company) (NDC), Russia's only settlement depository servicing the full range of debt and equity securities of Russian issuers, reports its operating results for the first quarter of 2010.

The value of securities on deposit with NDC as of 31 March, 2010 increased by 11.3% to RUB6.77 trillion compared with RUB6.086 trillion as of 31 December, 2009. As of 31 March, 2010 a growth of the aggregate market value of Russian issuers' shares on deposit with NDC was 10.8%; the increase in the aggregate nominal value of corporate and regional bonds on deposit with NDC reached 2.58%; the aggregate value of Unit Investment Trust (UIT) units increased by 6.35%; and the value of Russian Federation's and corporate Eurobonds reduced by 1.42%. The value of the Bank of Russia's bonds on deposit with NDC grew more than 2.5 times for the first quarter 2010 and amounted to RUB746.842 billion as of 31 March, 2010.

Eddie Astanin, Director General, NDC, pointed out: "NDC's operating indicators for the first quarter of 2010 are satisfactory, they comply with the planned levels."

The number of inventory operations conducted by NDC for 1Q 2010 amounted to 630,276. This was 22.38% more than for the first three months of 2009. 79.43% of inventory operations were represented by shares (500,623 operations).

NDC's securities turnover (the market value of securities transferred in inventory operations) decreased by 2.89% for the first quarter 2010 against the comparable period of 2009 to reach RUB15.544 trillion (RUB16.007 trillion for 1Q 2009). Total number of securities on deposit with NDC reduced by 13.63% from 2.101 trillion as of 31 December, 2009, to 1.815 trillion as of 31 March, 2010.

Total number of securities issues serviced by NDC increased 0.2% for the first three months of 2010 against the comparable period of 2009 reaching 2,901. Number of issuers serviced by NDC in 1Q 2010 amounted to 1,439 companies. This is 0.91% more than for January-March 2009. Number of depository accounts including accounts of legal entities-non-residents 1.2% grew since the beginning of 2010 and amounted to 1,927 accounts.

NDC remains the leading Russian paying agent on corporate and regional bonds. As of 1 April, 2010, NDC’s share in this market reached 34.54% based on a total number of the corporate and regional bonds in circulation and 36.1% based on a number of the issuers of the corporate and regional bonds in circulation. In 1Q 2010 NDC as a paying agent accepted for servicing 27 bond issues by 15 issuers. The number of bond issues serviced by NDC as a paying agent reached 260 issues by 162 issuers as of the end of the first quarter of 2010.

For the first quarter of 2010 NDC made 136 corporate, regional and the Bank of Russia's bond issues’ payments for RUB132.835 billion (151 payments for RUB25.761 billion for the same period of 2009) and also paid RUB948.21 million as income on registered securities (dividends, UITs income, revenues from repurchase of shares). This is 65% more than for 1Q 2009 (RUB574.66 million). The sum of Eurobonds' coupon and maturity payments for the first three months of 2010 amounted to RUB9.532 billion.

The market participants' interest to foreign securities grew; in particular, NDC and the Republican Unitarian Enterprise “The Republican Central Securities Depository” (Republic of Belarus) began holding cross-border operations.

For the first three months of 2010, in its role as Russia’s national numbering agency, NDC assigned international ISIN and CFI codes to 131 Russian securities and withdrew ISIN codes from 55 Russian securities. Since October 2009 the company assigns ISIN codes to additional share issues; for 1Q 2010 NDC assigned the codes to 15 additional share issues and withdrew the codes from 11 additional share issues (in the course of cancellation of these share issues' individual codes when the additional share issues receive the same ISIN assigned to its primary share issues).

In 2008 the Federal Financial Markets Service's Provision for Foreign Financial Instruments as Securities approved by FFMS Order #07-105/pz-n of Oct. 23, 2007, came into effect. According to this document NDC, acting as a member of Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA), provides services related to qualification of foreign financial instruments as securities to stock market participants.

For 1Q 2010 NDC received and processed 4,905 requests on financial instruments (including requests on the same instrument sent by different clients). In the course of processing, the company determined that there were requests for information on 113 new instruments.

As of 31 March, 2010 (including data for the previous years), NDC received and processed 38,120 requests on financial instruments (including requests on the same instrument sent by different clients). In the course of processing, the company determined that there were requests for information on 10,880 instruments. It was determined that 777 instruments did not have CFI codes including 218 instruments which also did not have ISIN codes. 242 instruments had CFI codes which did not conform to ISO 10962 and the Federal Financial Markets Service’s qualification requirements. Another 9,861 instruments had CFI codes which conform to the FFMS qualification requirements for foreign financial instruments including 11 CFI codes assigned with NDC's assistance.