OREANDA-NEWS. July 11, 2011. National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia's only settlement depository servicing the full range of debt and equity securities of Russian issuers, and ING Commercial Banking (legal name "ING BANK (EURASIA) ZAO"), the largest custodian in Russia providing a comprehensive range of custody services, announce expanding of a scheme of inter-depository interactions.

Starting 6 July, 2011, 44 companies are to be included in the list of issuers with shares circulated using Speedy Settlement Scheme (SSS). List of shares eligible for transfer via the SSS scheme between NSD and ING Commercial Banking is available at NSD’s web site.

The shares of Open Joint Stock Company “Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods” (WBD Foods) have been excluded from the list of issuers with shares circulated using Speedy Settlement Scheme (SSS). The exclusion is connected with a buyout of WBD Foods’ shares by Pepsi-Cola (Bermuda) Limited.
 Thus the total number of issuers with shares admitted to circulation via SSS will reach 101.

Eddie Astanin, Chairman of the Executive Board, NSD, said: “Expansion of SSS operating features is NSD's reaction to the customers' growing demand for higher quality and speed of settlements on transactions. It became possible due to NSD's switch to more efficient technological platform in early 2011.”

Natalia Sidorova, Head Securities Services, ING Commercial Banking, added: “The Speedy Settlement Scheme was the first to appear in the market as a means of a bridge interaction between a settlement depositary (NSD) and a custodian (ING). It has been functioning for over three years, and the demand for settlements via SSS has been increasing with every subsequent year. I am sure that further expansion of SSS by matching the list of securities eligible for such settlement with NSD-DCC Bridge will certainly further contribute to the increased attractiveness of SSS for market participants.”

It is worth adding that the Speedy Settlement Scheme is successfully used by NSD and ING Commercial Banking since November 2007.