Bank of Russia's view of bond listing rules

Various options for regulatory approaches to bond listing rules, including on the principles whereby bonds are included in the quotation list, are discussed in in the recently unveiled Bank of Russia consultation paper.

The document provides a view on the nature of bond listing through the prism of global experience and current Russian bond listing practices. The document authors highlight the importance of ensuring that the regulator, issuers, the exchange house and investors have all a shared understanding of what the concept of listing comprises and how this procedure works.

Admitting that bond listing can be built on various regulatory models, the regulator suggests that the expert community discuss the quotation list issue, looking into the options whereby bond quotation lists could be maintained, merged or discontinued. Market participants are also asked to say whether a reduction in regulatory burden is possible as regards access to organised trading; opinions are sought on the potential transfer to exchange houses of trading requirement-setting / quotation list inclusion powers. In recognition of the advances of the national rating industry, the report authors propose to explore the potential renunciation of break-even points as criteria for inclusion in quotation lists.

The Bank of Russia looks forward to receiving feedback on the consultation paper before 30 July 2018.