NSD – NNA for Russia: News and Events

13.10.09

NDC Assigns International ISIN Codes to Additional Share Issues

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, announces that starting from 12 October, 2009 it is responsible for assigning ISIN codes to additional share issues by Russian issuers.

In February 2009, NDC received official approval for the assignment of ISIN codes to such issues from the Board of Directors of Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and from the ANNA Service Bureau Advisory Board which controls the procedure for ISIN code creation and assignment. The ANNA boards confirmed that assignment of ISIN codes to Russia's additional share issues is acceptable and complies with international standards. After this NDC began the development of the appropriate software. This was completed 12 October.

Assignment of ISIN codes will take place for additional share issues whose individual codes of the issue and state registration numbers coincide with the primary share issue number. When an additional share issue's individual code is canceled the ISIN assigned to an additional share issue will also be canceled; from that moment the additional share issue will have the same ISIN assigned to its primary share issue.

It is worth pointing out that on 12 October NDC assigned ISIN codes to all additional share issues serviced by NDC and corresponding with all requirements mentioned above. Information about the assigned ISIN codes is placed at www.isin.ru in the section "News Regarding ISIN Code Assignment" and in a specialized database of ISIN codes assigned to Russian financial instruments. Starting 12 October NDC will receive Russian market participants' applications for the assignment of ISIN codes to additional share issues. Information on the procedure and rules of assignment is available at www.isin.ru.

About NDC:

The National Depository Center (Closed Joint Stock Company) is the largest settlement depository in Russia, servicing the full range of debt and equity securities of Russian issuers. NDC provides storage of global certificates and depository accounting for 99% of corporate bond issues, sub-federal and municipal bond issues. It services 100% of transactions conducted in the federal bond and the Bank of Russia bond markets, more than 99% of transactions conducted in the corporate and regional bond markets, and more than 99% of stock exchange transactions with equities and OTC trades. The international rating agency Thomas Murray has assigned NDC an АА- rating as a central depository. NDC is Russia's national numbering agency, and the substituting numbering agency for the CIS, authorized to assign the international ISIN and CFI codes.

Among NDC’s shareholders are MICEX (50,1727% of shares), Bank of Russia (42,2997% of shares) as well as GPB (OJSC) (Gazprombank), Evrofinance Mosnarbank, ROSBANK (OJSC JSCB), JSC VTB Bank, Bank of Moscow, JSC Rossiyskiy Kredit Bank, Vnesheconombank, ING Bank (Eurasia) ZAO, JP Morgan Bank International LLC, ZAO UniCredit Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Sberbank. NDC has stakes in Depository Clearing Company CJSC (37.29%), in Settlement Depository Company CJSC (28.54%) and in Bank "National Clearing Centre" CJSC (0.27%).

For further information about NDC: www.ndc.ru, or NDC Public Affairs Division: +7 495 232 0910, pr@ndc.ru.