OREANDA-NEWS. FTSE Global Markets, an independent financial publishing house, included National Settlement Depository, Russia's central securities depository, in the list of 20 people and organizations that had a major impact on the world of finance in 2013.

NSD was marked for its efforts to integrate into the international financial community, its innovative linkages with leading international settlement and clearing organizations, its tremendous strides in helping to position Moscow as a viable international financial center and to build an NSD-based regional liquidity center (by means of creating a CIS-wide interoperable network).

Eddie Astanin, Chairman of the Executive Board, NSD, said: “2013 marks a significant year for our financial infrastructure because it was the first year of NSD operating as the Russian CSD. NSD's nomination by FTSE Global Markets means for us that the teamwork of the Moscow Exchange Group, and in particular the establishment of the CSD, has been recognized by the international professional community. With this recognition, it is safe to speak about the integration of the Russian infrastructure into the global financial system and a stretch-out towards creating an international financial center in Moscow.”

Since 2005, Berlinguer Ltd. publishing house (FTSE Global Markets) annually chooses 20 people and organizations having a major impact on the world of finance in the past year. The FTSE Global Markets review of 2013 included such companies as SIX Swiss Exchange, Euroclear, STRATE, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and others. FTSE Global Markets is one of the world's principle independent financial publishing houses.

National Settlement Depository (NSD) is the central securities depository* of the Russian Federation, a part of the Moscow Exchange Group. NSD was founded on 27 June 1996. The total value of securities held on accounts as at 31.12.2013 reached RUB 21.6 trillion.

NSD offers to its clients wide range of services, including settlement and depository services, OTC trade registration services (repository), collateral management services and information services. NSD is Russia's national numbering agency and the substitute numbering agency for the CIS authorized to assign the international ISIN and CFI codes. NSD has obtained an official status of the Local Operating Unit (LOU) allowing the company to allocate Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) to Russian legal entities. The Bank of Russia has assigned NSD the payment system operator status under the registered name of “NSD Payment System.”

NSD provide services with all on-exchange and the majority of OTC transactions, serves Russian equities as the central depository and foreign equities. NSD has opened accounts with central securities depositories and international central securities depositories of 8 countries, as well as correspondent accounts with a number of major foreign and Russian banks, NSD safekeeps equities of issuers from more than 40 countries. The international rating agency Thomas Murray has assigned NSD an AA- rating as a central securities depository.