OREANDA-NEWS. Pursuant to Article 49 of Federal Law No. 251-FZ, dated 23 June 2013, 'On Amending Certain Laws of the Russian Federation Due to the Delegation to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of the Authority to Regulate, Control and Supervise Financial Markets' the Bank of Russia is obliged to withdraw from the capital of OJSC Moscow Exchange MICEX-RTS (OJSC Moscow Exchange) and CJSC Saint Petersburg Currency Exchange (CJSC SPCEX) until 1 January 2016.

To facilitate the implementation of this provision of Russian legislation, in July 2014, the Bank of Russia sold 267,274,238 shares or 11.73% of equity of OJSC Moscow Exchange in the open market that amounted to the half of the Bank of Russia share in the capital of this organisation.

However, due to the further developments in the geopolitical situation and consequently the necessity to retain comprehensive regulator's control over the functioning and development of the national exchange infrastructure for an undetermined period, the Bank of Russia considers complete withdrawal from the capital of OJSC Moscow Exchange and CJSC SPCEX inexpedient.

To withdraw the said provision from current legislation, the Bank of Russia held preliminary consultations with concerned participants of the legislative process and sent the corresponding proposals to the Russian Ministry of Finance.