Russia's DIA seeks contractor to sell Visa shares worth 3.6 bln rubles
MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) - Russia's Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) is selecting a contractor to work with shares in Visa Inc , the international payment system, with the goal of raising money for the bankruptcy estates of Russian banks that are being liquidated, the DIA said in a press release.
The agency wants to sell Visa shares owned by three banks: International Industrial Bank (Mezhprombank), Uraltransbank and Stroykredit. The shares are held in client accounts at a U.S. depository. The proceeds from the sale must be transferred to authorized banks in Russia.
The three banks own a combined 26,377 Class C shares in Visa, which after conversion amount to 105,508 Class A shares (0.0061%) traded on the New York Stock Exchange. These shares were worth $341.8 million as of the close of trading on January 31, exchange data showed.
Therefore, the DIA could receive about 3.6 billion rubles from the sale of the shares (at the Central Bank's exchange rate of 99.9433 rubles/$1 for February 4), not including dividends.
The agency is accepting bids from organizations and lawyers with experience working in foreign jurisdictions and staff or a partner in the United States to work with the depository and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The DIA, according to documents on its website, requires confirmation of each bank's ownership rights to the shares and dividends; conversion of the Visa shares from Class C to Class A, including the completion of a special tax form for non-resident owners of securities; the sale of the shares through the service of the depository on a U.S. exchange, with the proceeds deposited in the banks' accounts at the depository; and arrangements for the transfer of these proceeds and dividends to the settlement account of authorized banks in Russia on the instructions of Uraltransbank and Mezhprombank.
In regard to Stroykredit, it also requires work to lift OFAC restrictions and arrangements for the transfer of money from the bank's account at the depository to an authorized bank in Russia, the DIA materials said.
Mezhprombank, Stroykredit and Uraltransbank were stripped of their licenses in October 2010, March 2014 and October 2018, respectively.
Visa announced the suspension of operations in Russia in March 2022. Visa bank cards issued by Russian banks stopped working abroad but continued to work in Russia, because transactions on them inside the country are processed by the National Payment Card System.
