SPB Exchange estimates total of clients' FX not subject to restrictions at 6 bln rubles

MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - SPB Exchange has determined the volume of foreign currency not subject to restrictions and agreed with brokers on the mechanism of its distribution among trading participants, the trading floor said in a statement.

Clients of SPB Exchange's settlement and clearing infrastructure have access to funds in U.S. dollars, Hong Kong dollars, yuan and tenge, in volume equivalent to 5.9 billion rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of Russia as of November 27, 2023. This represents 31.05% of the total amount of client funds.

The SPX Exchange has distributed these funds among trading participants in proportion to the volume and type of foreign currencies that are in the clearing accounts of trading participants.

"Further, each trading participant will independently determine the order of distribution of the received funds among its clients and the terms of clients' access to them. These funds will be able to be withdrawn by clients of trading participants only in rubles, since the SPX Exchange currently does not have access to settlements in foreign currencies," the statement said.

For the remaining part of foreign currency and securities, foreign counterparties are now not processing orders from companies that are part of the settlement and clearing infrastructure of SPB Exchange to conclude transactions. "In this regard, SPX Exchange is not able to carry out settlements on these assets and will temporarily transfer them to non-trading sections from November 28," the statement indicates.

With regard to part of investors' positions on foreign securities, carried over by investors through repo deals, it was decided to close such counter positions via purchase and sale transactions.

The Exchange notes that foreign counterparties continue to conduct compliance procedures, and pending the completion of this process they have stopped settlement transactions with the exchange, including those under the OFAC license.

The exchange's international legal advisors have until December 4 to deliver their opinion on several scenarios for unblocking the assets.

On November 2, the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control, a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury responsible for sanctions enforcement) added SPB Exchange to its sanctions list. After that, trading in foreign securities on it was suspended. OFAC also issued a license to curtail operations with SPB Exchange by January 31, 2024.