NSD Takes Part in the 15th AECSD Conference

National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository, took part in the 15th International Conference of the Association of Eurasian Central Securities Depositories (AECSD) held 27-29 September in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The forum was organized by Uzbekistan’s State Enterprise Central Securities Depository. This year, the event’s main theme was “Entering Foreign Markets: Challenges and Opportunities.”

The conference brought together 100 specialists, including representatives of central securities depositories of CIS countries, international CSDs, investment banks, SWIFT, and ANNA. Chinese CSDs (CSDC and SHCH) took part in the AECSD forum for the first time this year. There were also representatives of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Delegates discussed issues related to the legislative aspects of cross-border interactions and international securities market instruments. Panel discussions were focused on business diversification and aspects of protecting investor rights and asset safety.

National Settlement Depository was represented by Eddie Astanin, Chairman of the Company’s Executive Board, Maria Krasnova, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, Arman Melkumyan, Head of the Network Relations Division, and Dmitry Ivanov, Head of the Securities Accounts Network Management.

Maria Krasnova participated in the panel discussion “Innovations as a Way to Diversify Business,” in which delegates discussed Eurasian trends in depository business development and the introduction of core and non-core CSD services. In particular, Ms. Krasnova described NSD’s innovative projects related to crypto assets and the robotic automation of NSD’s operations, as well as the Company’s proactive involvement in preparing bills that regulate activities connected with digital assets. 

Arman Melkumyan presented a report “The Establishment of Bilateral Links. Requirements for a Local Infrastructure.” This report highlighted aspects of providing for the effective integration of financial markets in the Eurasian region and key issues of cross-border relations developed by central securities depositories.

During the conference, the following companies signed memoranda of understanding:

• NSD and Uzbekistan’s State Enterprise Central Securities Depository;
• МКК (Turkey) and Uzbekistan’s State Enterprise Central Securities Depository;
• JSC CSD (Kazakhstan) and Uzbekistan’s State Enterprise Central Securities Depository;
• Central Depository of the Republic of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan’s State Enterprise Central Securities Depository;
• Republican Unitary Enterprise "Republican Central Securities Depository" (Belarus) and JSC Specialized Depository INFINITUM.

Also, an agreement to open a securities account was signed by the Republican Unitary Enterprise "Republican Central Securities Depository" (Belarus) and CJSC Central Depository of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.

AECSD’s AGM Results

Following the Association’s tradition, the Annual General Meeting of AECSD members was held during the conference. It was moderated by Dmitry Ivanov, the Association’s Secretary. A new member – CSD of Mongolia (MCSD) – joined the Association.

Furthermore, AGM participants discussed issues of participating in global initiatives, such as cooperation between AECSD and ACG, the WFC (which will be held in Morocco in 2019), the Single Disclosure Initiative project, as well as the unified format of profiles of WFC member associations, the E-Learning initiative, and CSDs’ FinTech initiatives. 

The next global AECSD conference will be held in 2019 in Kyrgyzstan.