OREANDA-NEWS. The Bank of Russia Board of Directors decided:

1. For the purpose of using credit ratings required for including Russian issuers’ bonds, mortgage-backed bonds, SPV bonds, securities issued by Russian local governments and municipalities, and also mortgage participation certificates in the first (upper) grade quotation list in compliance with the provisions of Bank of Russia Regulation No. 534-P, dated 24 February 2016, ‘On Securities Admittance to Organised Trades’ (hereinafter, the Regulation), to form the following list of rating agencies (their separate divisions registered in line with the procedure prescribed by the Russian law):

Standard & Poor’s;

Fitch Ratings;

Moody’s Investors Service;

Joint-stock company Expert Rating Agency (JSC Expert RA).

2. To establish the following credit rating levels for including securities in the first (upper) grade quotation list in line with the Regulation:

for the purpose of including Russian issuers’ bonds in the first (upper) grade quotation list, the credit rating of an issuer (bond issue) and surety (guarantor) according to the classification of either of the rating agencies, Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service (their separate divisions registered in line with the Russian legislation), shall not be below the sovereign international rating of the Russian Federation in respective currency assigned by a respective rating agency and decreased by three rating categories (grades), or, if measured on the national scale, — not lower than ruA in Standard & Poor`s classification, A-(rus) in Fitch Ratings’ classification, or A+ in Expert RA’s classification;

for the purpose of including mortgage-backed bonds, SPV bonds, and also securities issued by Russian local governments and municipalities in the first (upper) grade quotation list, the credit rating of an issuer (bond issue) and surety (guarantor) according to the classification of either of the rating agencies, Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service (their separate divisions registered in line with the Russian legislation), shall not be below the sovereign international rating of the Russian Federation in respective currency assigned by a respective rating agency and decreased by three rating categories (grades), or, if measured on the national scale, — not lower than ruA in Standard & Poor`s classification, A-(rus) in Fitch Ratings’ classification, or A+ in Expert RA’s classification;

for the purpose of including mortgage participation certificates in the first (upper) grade quotation list, the credit rating of an issuer (bond issue) and surety (guarantor) according to the classification of either of the rating agencies, Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service (their separate divisions registered in line with the Russian legislation), shall not be below the sovereign international rating of the Russian Federation in respective currency assigned by a respective rating agency and decreased by three rating categories (grades), or, if measured on the national scale, — not lower than ruA in Standard & Poor`s classification, A-(rus) in Fitch Ratings’ classification, or A+ in Expert RA’s classification;

In pursuance of its purposes, this decision uses the following types of credit ratings assigned by the foreign rating agencies (their separate divisions registered in line with the Russian legislation):

credit ratings by Fitch Ratings — the following long-term credit ratings: Issuer Credit Rating (Issuer Default Rating); Corporate Finance Obligations; Rating of Structured Finance, Project Finance and Public Finance Obligations;

credit ratings by Standard & Poor’s — Issuer Credit Rating and Long-term Issue Credit Rating;

credit ratings by Moody’s Investors Service — Issuer Rating, Corporate Family Rating, Structured Finance Counterparty Rating, Long-Term Obligation Rating and Bank Deposit Rating.

The Corporate Family Rating is only assigned to issuers on a standalone basis.

3. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Clause 10 of Annex 1 to the Regulation, to decide to use credit ratings of the following rating agencies for bond issues (bond issuer), surety (guarantor) and mortgage participation certificates, included in quotations lists for the period from their formation to the moment of the enactment of the exchange listing rules:

Standard & Poor’s;

Fitch Ratings;

Moody’s Investors Service;

Joint-stock company Expert Rating Agency (JSC Expert RA)1;

Non-public joint-stock company Rus-Rating2;

Joint-stock company Rating Agency AK&M3;

Limited liability company National Rating Agency.

In pursuance of this clause, credit ratings assigned by the rating agencies Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service shall mean credit ratings assigned by the subsidiary entities and branches (separate divisions) of these agencies4.

This decision becomes effecting from 15 May 2016.

1 The rating agency’s name used for including securities in the first (upper) grade quotation list in line with the requirements of Russia’s FFMS Order No. 13-62/pz-n, dated 30 July 2013, ‘On the Procedure to Admit Securities to Organised Trades’ (hereinafter, the Order) is Closed Joint-stock Company Rating Agency Expert RA.

2 The rating agency’s name used for including securities in the first (upper) grade quotation list in line with the requirements of the Order is Closed Joint-stock Company Rus-Rating.

3 The rating agency’s name used for including securities in the first (upper) grade quotation list in line with the requirements of the Order is Closed Joint-stock Company Rating Agency AK&M.

4 According to the requirements of the Order, the names of legal entities and branches (separate divisions) of the mentioned rating agencies are as follows: Fitch Ratings CIS Ltd., Standard and Poor’s International Services, Inc., and Moody’s Investors Service.