Services for Issuers

At VBM, we serve and support issuers and investors with secure electronic registration of securities ownership, whether shares, bonds, bills or units, and whether the securities are listed on an exchange or not. We focus on efficient and secure processes.

Electronic registration of securities with the Icelandic Securities Depository provides legally valid confirmation of ownership and associated rights. This enhances investor security and supports the professional and reliable registration of financial instruments.

Investors can easily monitor their assets and transactions through online banking and clearly see their year-end position, for example in information provided to the Icelandic tax authorities. For managers, registration means simpler record-keeping and less manual work.

Our electronic registration system securely records shares, bonds and bills, among other securities. Securities settlement is a streamlined, simple and secure process. The shareholder register is updated in real time, and corporate actions such as dividend payments, changes to share capital and transfers of securities are carried out securely and efficiently.

Electronic registration is also a prerequisite for securities to be listed on a stock exchange and traded on a regulated market.

1. The company’s Board decides to register securities with VBM.
2. An issuance agreement and issue description are entered into with VBM.
3. The issuer provides VBM with a shareholder register showing each shareholder’s holdings.
4. Specify when the registration is to take effect.
5. VBM handles communications with the custodian bank regarding the listing.

Pursuant to Article 27 of Act No. 2/1995 on Public Limited Companies, the board of the company may decide to issue shares in electronic form through a central securities depository, in accordance with the Act on Central Securities Depositories, Settlement and Electronic Registration of Financial Instruments.

Under the Companies Act, decisions on the electronic registration of a company and, accordingly, its deregistration are made by the company's board of directors.

When securities (shares, bonds and bills) are registered with a central securities depository, an issuance agreement is entered into and a prospectus is issued.

Upon signing the issuance agreement, the issue is set up in VBM's systems. VBM ensures that registrations of rights to issuers' securities are consistent with the records held by commercial banks.

The registration is based on the issue agreement and the offering document. The issue agreement sets out the issue identification details and other terms relating to the issue. Any changes to the issue agreement or offering document must be notified to VBM.

For companies and funds, the benefit of registering securities electronically with a central securities depository is that ownership and rights are formally confirmed. Registering securities simplifies administration, while investors can view their holdings and transactions in online banking and their year-end tax positions.

If securities are already registered with another central securities depository, VBM can assist with transferring them to VBM, allowing issuers to benefit from lower fees.

Issuers of securities (shares, bonds and bills) can access an up-to-date share register and get help with all corporate actions through VBM.

The shareholder register contains all information about shareholders and is updated in real time to reflect transactions in the shares of the company or fund. The register is also linked to the National Register, so addresses are updated daily.

Corporate actions are easy to carry out in partnership with VBM, including:

• Dividends paid by a limited company to its shareholders through an account operator.
• Interest payments and repayments by issuers to holders through settlement institutions.
• Increase or decrease in share capital.
• Other corporate actions in accordance with the issuer's request.

In addition, the company and individual shareholders can easily access transaction and holdings reports. Shareholders can view information about their securities and holdings through their online bank and the tax authorities.

Documents for shareholder meetings are available through VBM:

• Updated shareholder register reflecting the latest transactions
• Transaction history
• Position List