The Central Bank of Russia has published a draft concept for a phased reform requiring depositories and registrars to process securities information using unified electronic message formats. The change is intended to replace fragmented bilateral arrangements, reducing costs and accelerating securities transfers, settlements and corporate actions. The central bank will develop standardized message specifications based on ISO 20022 in consultation with market participants, self-regulatory organizations and software developers. Integrating these formats into business processes is expected to support data exchange and transaction settlement close to real time. The transition will be implemented in stages and is expected to take at least five years.