Bank of Russia to register savings and deposit certificate issue terms

The Bank of Russia has unveiled its new Regulation laying out the procedure for credit institutions’ savings certificates / certificates of deposit entering the financial market.

Amendments to the Law ‘On Banks and Banking Activities’, effective since 1 June 2018, require that credit institutions issue savings certificates / certificates of deposit only after the Bank of Russia enters the terms of their issue into a register.

The new rules will now allow only registered certificates to be issued — that is, those attesting that a customer has deposited the amount under bank-specified terms. From now on, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation will not permit the issue of bearer certificates.

The Bank of Russia determines the essential reference details savings certificates / certificates of deposit must have. Each certificate must display a reference to registered terms of issue, certificate owner rights, and issuing bank obligations. Specifically, such certificates shall clearly state if the depositor is entitled to the deposited funds and accrued interest as requested before the certificate expiry date.

The Bank of Russia will register savings deposit / certificate of deposit issue terms based on documents submitted by banks per a statutory list, provided there are no grounds for denials in the Regulation. Information on registered terms of issue will be available on the Bank of Russia website.

The Regulation also determines the options for and procedure for the interest rates the credit institution can set on its certificate-warranted deposits, as well as the procedure whereby credit institutions must disclose information on savings certificate / certificate of deposit issue terms.

The regulatory act becomes effective ten days after its official publication.