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Today, the Bank of Russia has held new deposit auctions for commercial banks, based on the MICEX System of electronic trading. As a result, 1 billion worth of deposit transactions were concluded with the average weighted rate of 2.0% of yearly interest for 4- week deposits. Settlements for these transactions are effected through the accounts of banks, opened with the MICEX Settlement House.
23 banks of Moscow region and 56 regional banks have expressed interest in participating in deposit auctions held by the Bank of Russia through the MICEX trading and settlement systems. These auctions, based on the MICEX System of electronic trading, have been held on the MICEX since 18 March. The banks are preparing documents necessary for obtaining access to participation in deposit operations of the Bank of Russia.
The MICEX trading and settlement systems are based on the national infrastructure of the organized securities market, which covers 8 main financial regions of Russia.
The technology of participation in deposit operations of the Bank of Russia through the MICEX trading and settlement system gives lending institutions additional possibilities to manage assets, including:
* highly effective access to deposit operations of the Bank of Russia (automated mode of concluding transactions, generating and transmitting reports, electronic document turnover);
* effecting settlements for deposit transactions through bank accounts, opened with regional settlement centers of the organized securities market;
* the possibility of speedy use of funds, participating in deposit operations, in other sectors of the MICEX financial market (the government securities market, the stock market and the currency market).
The Bank of Russia's deposit operations include deposit auctions (held weekly on Thursday and are aimed at determining the deposit interest rate on the auction basis) and deposit transactions on the fixed rate terms (fixing is held daily at the time established by the bank of Russia).
The rules of conducting deposit operations the MICEX system envisage, besides auctions, deposit operations on the fixing terms. According to Eddy Astanin, Director of the MICEX Department of Government Securities and Money Market Instruments, fixing is a new step (after deposit auctions) in the development of deposit operations using the MICEX System of electronic trading. Considering the MICEX's technological preparedness for these operations, E.Astanin noted, banks will be able to conduct deposit transactions on the fixing terms immediately after the Bank of Russia's announcement of the rules of deposit auctions and fixing operations.