Issuer services

At VBM, we serve and support issuers and investors by providing secure electronic registration of securities, including shares, bonds, bills and unit certificates, whether or not they are listed on an exchange. We are committed to efficient and secure processes.

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

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

Our electronic registration system securely records shares, bonds and bills, among other securities. Securities settlement is a standardised, simple and secure process. The shareholder register is updated in real time, and corporate actions such as dividend payments, changes to share capital and securities transfers 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 resolves to register securities with VBM.
2. An issuance agreement and issue description are concluded with VBM.
3. The issuer provides VBM with a shareholder list showing each shareholder's holdings.
4. Choose when the registration should take effect.
5. VBM handles communications with the commercial bank in connection with the registration.

Under Article 27 of Act No. 2/1995 on Public Limited Companies, the company’s board may decide to issue shares electronically 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, consequently, 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 issue agreement is entered into and an offering document 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 correspond with the transaction records of the commercial bank.

The issuance agreement and offering memorandum form the basis for registration. The issuance agreement sets out the issue’s identifying details and other terms relating to the issue. Any changes to the issuance agreement or offering memorandum must be reported to VBM.

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

If securities are already registered with another CSD, VBM can help transfer them to VBM so issuers can benefit from more favourable terms.

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

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

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

• Dividend payments by a limited company to its owners through account operators.
• Interest payments and repayments from issuers to holders through settlement agents.
• Increase and 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 position reports. Shareholders can view information about their securities and holdings through online banking and the tax authority.

Documents for shareholder meetings are available from VBM:

• Updated shareholder register based on the latest transactions
• Transaction list
• Position List