Managing Cash Dividends  

The Issuer sends an announcement, notifying of 

• Τhe cut-off and determination of beneficiaries dates
• Τhe percentage of tax to be withheld
• Τhe paying agent and 
• Τhe date on which the cash dividend is to be paid

Then, the corporate action is registered and ATHEXCSD Participants are informed via an ISO15022 message. Payment of the dividend is paid through: 

• Payer Banks (produces and distributes documents for Payer) 
• ATHEXCSD (submits the application - Available only in Greek - to Participants via email about the dividend distribution being paid by ATHEXCSD)
• Bank of Greece (for its own issued shares)

Dividends related to bonds are to be paid through ATHEXCSD.
 

Recalculation of Cash Dividends  

Recalculating cash dividends takes place as follows: 

• A Participant submits a dividend recalculation request 
• The Issuer and Paying Bank receive the request 
• The Participant accepts or rejects the service charge 
• Upon recalculation, ATHEXCSD
  • Produces the beneficiaries file and sends it to the Issuer
  • Sends the files to the Paying Bank 
  • Invoices the Participant
     

Read detailed information about how ATHEXCSD manages reinvestment of dividends with option rights 

Reinvestment 

Managing corporate actions of Reinvestment comprises the following stages:
 

The Issuer announces: 

1. The dates of cut-off and determination of beneficiaries 
2. The percentage of tax to be withheld 
3. The Paying Agent
4. The date of payment of the dividend, along with the ability of reinvesting the dividend or not.

Registration of the corporate action using one of two options:  

1. Cash (default option)
2. Securities

Participants are informed via an ISO15022 message

Participants receive an email, notifying them of:

1. The corporate action’s number, in which they input orders 
2. The order input period 
3. The date of payment and crediting of new shares

Following the end of the period during which investors declare their interest in reinvestment, the corporate action of distributing new shares is registered on ATHEXCSD. These new shares are credited on the accounts of investors who chose to reinvest their dividend, through the distribution file. Investors who opted not to reinvest, receive the dividend amount on the payment date.

The following table displays information regarding distributions of titles:

Title Distributions  

ATHEXCSD handles title distributions according to the following process:

• The Issuer submits an application (Available only in Greek), along with the supporting documents outlined in Resolution 8 of the ATHEXCSD Board.
• The corporate action is registered on the DSS 
• Some corporate actions may require Participants to be informed via their chosen communication methods through an ISO15022 message
• In corporate actions of listing shares on the Athens Stock Exchange for the first time, the process involves:
  • Analysis of the allocation of beneficiaries file 
  • Blocking of shares 
  • Crediting investors’ accounts, one day before the security begins trading on the Athens Stock Exchange In corporate actions of deletion, and following the respective decision by the Issuer, the Capital Market Commission, or ATHEX, the Issuer receives a list of the holders of the securities to be deleted compiled by ATHEXCSD. In the case of voluntary deletion, the Issuer submits an application (Available only in Greek) for the removal of securities.
• In case a corporate action results in fractional balances, these are calculated
  • Per order to participate in a corporate action, for corporate actions requiring the entry of orders 
  • Per Participant account, for corporate actions that do not require the entry of orders

Please note the sum of fractional balances is not aggregated in total per share. Securities to be sold are calculated according to Resolution 8 of the ATHEXCSD Board. 

The receipt of the Distribution File Service from ATHEXCSD is done following the submission of the Information for the distribution file through the Issuers Service/Corporate Actions, in accordance with the instructions provided in the files Completion Instructions and Participant Code & Name (files available only in Greek).

 

Exercise of Rights Issue 

ATHEXCSD has a limited role in this corporate action, as it is mostly managed by contractors: 

1. Corporate Action is registered on the DSS
2. Participants receive an ISO15022 message
3. Participants claim their rights on the DSS, send the required documents to the contractor, and pay the fee to the contractor’s bank of choice
4. The Issuer generates a share allocation record file, which includes the investor
5. ATHEXCSD credits the investor’s account with the new shares

Mandatory Buyout 

The handling process for mandatory buyouts (squeeze out) is administered as follows: 

1. The Capital Market Commission approves the takeover request 
2. ATHEXCSD receives the approved request from the Proposer 
3. The corporate action is registered on the DSS via one of the following two options: 
   1. Payment of fee from Participant 
   2. Deposit of fee into the Loan and Deposit Fund (default option)
4. ATHEXCSD Participants receive an ISO15022 notification (default option) 
5. Participants receive an email, informing them of the corporate action, and proceed to input the shareholders’ participation orders on the DSS within a time limit
6. ATHEXCSD informs the Loan and Deposit Fund (LDF) about any deposits related to the corporate action and supplies the respective information
7. The Propose is informed of the final results and financial obligations:
   1. Sums to be returned to investors  
   2. Tax due
   3. Fees of ATHEXCSD-provided services, as per Resolution 18 of the ATHEXCDS Board  
   4. Sums to be paid to LDF 
8. Payment of fees to investors, transfer of securities from investors’ accounts over to the Proposer’s 
9. Proposer and Issuer are notified upon completion

Completion of the corporate action

The Proposer:

• Deposits into a bank account of ATHEXCSD the portion of the Acquisition Consideration attributable to the holders who have authorized the Participants to receive it. 
• Deposits into a cash deposit account of the TSP the portion of the Acquisition Consideration attributable to the holders who have not authorized the Participants to receive it 

ATHEXCSD:

• Deposits the buyout proceeds into the Participants' accounts 
• Transfers the redeemed securities from the accounts of the beneficial shareholders to the account of the proponent 

Handling mandatory reorganizations without options 

Handling for mandatory reorganizations without options comprises the following steps:

1. A request is submitted, with the:
   1. Record date
   2. Number of new shares
   3. Allocation ratio of new shares  
   4. Trading start date
2. Registration of corporate action. The Issuer or the Capital Manager integrate the allocation ratio into an algorithm that is applied based on the record date
3. Trading of the product is halted at least two days before record date, so as to clear all transactions, and ensure there are no transactions pending on the record date
4. ATHEXCSD verifies the number of securities comprising each issue or part thereof, submitted to it for registration by the Issuer or Fund Managers as a result of a corporate or other related action, is equal to the total number of securities registered in the Participants’ securities accounts
5. ATHEXCSD Participants receive an ISO15022 notification
6. New securities are credited to investors’ accounts
7. In case the allocation of new shares results in fractional balances, the Issuer is informed via a fractional balances file, so as to conduct a sale. The relevant securities are sold by the Issuer, and the proceeds are to be paid to Participants with the relevant securities accounts for the beneficiaries. 

Managing Public Proposals 

Public proposals undergo the following process: 

1. Public Proposal request submitted by a Participant, via JIRA
2. Registration of corporate action on DSS
3. ISO15022 message sent to Participants
4. Email sent to Participants about the corporate action, notifying them to input the participation orders of the acquired security’s shareholders, within the prescribed timeframe
5. Following the participation period, ATHEXCSD informs the Bank and the Proposer of the corporate actions’ results, and the subsequent financial obligations
   1. ATHEXCSD receives the results from the Bank 
   2. If the Public Offering is NOT deemed successful, the shares are released to the investors' shares
6. ATHEXCSD receives the results from the Bank and:  
   1. If the Public Proposal is NOT accepted, the shares are integrated to the investors’ shares
   2. If the Public Proposal is accepted, on payment date, the Proposer pays to ATHEXCSD a sum according to Resolution 18 of the ATHEXCSD Board and the transfer of shares over to the Proposer is completed 
7. Upon completion of the process, Participants are notified via email  

Converting bonds to shares

The corporate action of converting bonds to shares comprises of the following stages: 

1. The Issuer announces the: 
   1. Commitment period 
   2. Conversion date 
   3. Allocation ratio 
   4. Exercise price
2. Registration of the corporate action using one of two options: 
   1. No action (default option) 
   2. Securities for securities
3. Participants receive an IPO15022 message
4. Participants receive an email detailing the corporate action, so as to claim bonds to be converted to shares
5. Following the final commitment date, ATHEXCSD generate a status file for the Issuer, and loads it onto AXIALINE
6. The Issuer must increase their capital and obtain approval from ATHEX
7. Final registration of new securities onto investors’ accounts and deletion of bonds on claimed bonds file 
    

Change of fixed assets

The change of fixed assets is handled as follows: 

1. Request for change in nominal value or company’s name
2. Corporate action registered on the DSS
3. ISO15022 message sent to Participants
4. Security nominal value and Issuer’s new capital are updated 

The servicing of the allotment of the Hellenic Republic's TENs and treasury bills is as follows:

1. Registration using ISIN B
2. Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) announces the offering of fixed income securities to individuals via public registration on any Bank or Financial company for a period of three days, and sets the maximum sum of participation
3. ATHEXCSD inputs the security to be issued (ISIN B) and registers a corporate action titled “Listing of New Government Bonds”, so as to receive the allocation records of Participants, who are Entities of the Bank of Greece
4. During the offer period, Participants upload the allocation files onto the DSS
5. ATHEXCSD notifies the PDMA and the Bank of Greece
6. On the settlement date, ATHEXCSD deposits the securities into investors’ accounts on the DSS 

Considering foreign securities, and particularly dual listed securities, ATHEXCSD provides support to all corporate actions that result in the distribution of money or securities (dividends, capital repayments, reinvestments, splits/ reverse splits, mergers and others).

ATHEXCSD handles the execution of corporate actions carried out for dual listed securities that are registered with the DSS on the record date.

ATHEXCSD is informed by its Providers on a regular basis, both regarding new corporate actions, and adjustments to corporate actions under processing. ATHEXCSD also processes the relevant information and, where necessary, enriches or cross-references with other sources of information. Subsequently, the information is forwarded to Participants who have signed up to the Foreign Securities services.

Depending on the corporate action, investors’ preferences are collected via their Participants regarding the options of corporate actions. Subsequently, these preferences are forwarded to ATHEXCSD Providers for implementation.

Handling of corporate actions is divided into two stages: 

• The Provider implements the corporate action in the collective securities account held by ATHEXCSD in the Foreign Market
• Subsequently, ATHEXCSD implements the corporate action in: 
  • The cash settlement accounts of investors’ Participants (in case of cash distributions) 
  • In the investors’ securities accounts in the DSS (in case of changes in securities balances)

Please note that ATHEXCSD will only conduct a distribution of proceeds (in cash or securities) that arise from a corporate action only upon receiving the respective payment into its accounts with the Provider. 

ATHEXCSD offers two options for the refund of withheld tax on dual listed cash distributions. These options are applicable to the Belgian market: 

• Using a Paying Agent
  • Eligible investors collect and send the required documents to the Paying Bank within eight calendar days from the date of payment of the cash dividend
  • The Issuer, along with the Paying Bank, verifies the documents and conducts any additional cash payments that directly correspond to the requested tax refund sum 
  • The above-mentioned process does not directly involve the Belgian tax authorities, meaning the tax refund may be completed relatively quickly
• Using the Belgian Tax Authorities
  • Eligible investors collect and send the required documents to the Belgian tax authorities within five years from the 1st of January of the year of the cash dividend. 
  • This option is characterized by delays, since it may take between twelve and eighteen months for the Belgian tax authorities to process the request and reimburse the tax.

For more information, click here.

After selecting the legal form of the beneficiary, click on ‘International’, and then ‘Reimbursement of the Withholding'.