Finam not yet planning to restrict access to foreign securities on SPB Exchange

MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax) - Finam is not currently planning to restrict trading in foreign securities for its clients on the SPB Exchange, Dmitry Lesnov, head of Finam financial group's client service development department, told Interfax.

The United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which is responsible for enforcing sanctions, added the SPB Exchange to the sanctions list on Thursday. Trading in foreign and Russian shares on the stock exchange was suspended following the announcement.

The SPB Exchange later on Thursday announced that there would not be any trading in foreign securities and Russian securities in the main trading mode on November 3, and that trading was planned to begin on November 6.

The SPB Exchange also on Friday announced that it would begin trading at 2 p.m. Moscow time in the main mode with a limited list in the Russian Securities group of instruments.

The OFAC has also issued a standard license for such cases in order to exit the securities of the SPB Exchange until January 31, 2024.

"Transactions could be completed right up until the end of January 2024," Lesnov believes.