The National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository, and Interfax’s Center for Disclosing Corporate Information have launched Single Disclosure Window.
According to the NSD, Single Disclosure Window will give issuers the ability to disclose material facts via information agencies’ news feeds. It will also inform NSD’s Corporate Actions Center about corporate actions.
Regulatory documents amended by the Bank of Russia in August (regulations 454-P and 546-P), enabled the launch as the regulations 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.
Eddie Astanin, chairman of the executive board, NSD, said: “For NSD clients, it is very important to promptly receive validated and standardised information about issuers’ corporate actions and material facts.”
He added: “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, commented: “In fact, a major issuer publishes approximately 200 to 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.”
He added: “The transition to the Single Disclosure Window means that issuers will substantially reduce their labour 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.”
