Latvian Central Depository Starts Co-operation with International Securities Depository Clearstream

18.05.2011 RIG

Riga, May 18, 2011 – as of today, Latvian Central Depository starts co-operation with international securities depository Clearstream Banking Luxembourg, enabling clients of Latvian Central Depository – Latvian commercial banks and their customers – to keep the securities issued by governments and companies of foreign countries on their securities accounts in Latvia.

From now on, it is possible to carry out, bypassing a long string of intermediaries, the same transactions with foreign-issued securities as with domestic (Baltic) ones – to transfer to another securities account or provide DVP service for the counterparts at high speed and in a secure manner, and to keep the foreign issuer securities on own bank account in Latvia.

Clearstream Banking Luxembourg is the leading securities depository in Europe, providing post-trading services to more than 2500 customers in 110 countries worldwide. Clearstream provides securities settlement, accounting and registrar services. Over 300,000 foreign-issued securities – debt securities, shares and fund units – are deposited with Clearstream. Clearstream settles more than 250,000 transactions daily.

“Relationship with this global level securities depository is a proof of Latvian Central Depository’s ability to successfully integrate into international securities movement process, enabling our clients – Latvian commercial banks and brokerage firms – to offer to their customers advanced quality securities settlement services. Now performing cross-border settlements and transfers at high speed and enhanced quality has become possible without involving a long string of intermediaries,” points out Raitis Vancāns, a management board member of Latvian Central Depository.    

About the Latvian Central Depository

Latvian Central Depository has the status of a national securities depository. It performs the functions of the central bank for securities, providing registrar, safe-custody and settlement services for all securities that are in public circulation in Latvia and also for those that are not listed on the exchange. In addition, the Latvian Central Depository provides other registrar services to its customers, e.g., the second pillar of Latvia’s pension system, shareholder registers for non-listed companies. Latvian Central Depository is a daughter company of NASDAQ OMX Riga. More: www.nasdaqbaltic.com.

About NASDAQ OMX

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world’s largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with approximately 3,500 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries.  NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com. Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx).

Media contacts: 

Āris Dreimanis

NASDAQ OMX Riga 

+37167212431; +37126124824

aris.dreimanis@nasdaqomx.com