OREANDA-NEWS. December 30, 2008. The National Depository Center (NDC), Russia's only settlement depository servicing the full range of debt and equity securities of Russian issuers, announced today that it has completed its next scheduled stage of modernization of its technological platform. The company has begun offering on a trial basis remote access to customer accounts. The remote access system is being developed with the support of Tata Consultancy Services, India, on basis of software from Oracle, leading international software developer, and equipment supplied by Hewlett-Packard.

The system gives customers fast access to information about securities held on depository accounts, and also allows a number of inventory operations in trial version. In this way, the company is implementing a recommendation by the international rating agency Thomas Murray to promote decreased operating risk, a factor which is taken into account in the assignment of a general public rating for a central depository.

The remote access system is scheduled for commercial operation in the third quarter of 2009.