ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF THE RESERVED INTERSTATE BANK
The Reserve Interstate Bank, hereinafter referred to as the Bank, has been established in accordance with the Participation Agreement in the Reserve Interstate Bank.
These Articles of Association of the Reserve Interstate Bank shall be an integral part of the above-mentioned Agreement.
Article 1.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The Bank is the international clearance, lending and financial institution.
2. The Bank is a legal entity. The location of the Bank is determined after the signing of Agreement with the governments of states interested in the work and the arrival of the Bank on its territory.
3. The Bank is entitled to enter into international agreements in its discretion within the scope of its competence.
4. The relations between the Bank and the state of domicile of the Bank, including its privileges and immunities, shall be specified in an individual bilateral agreement.
Article 2.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERSTATE BANK
1. The Bank shall ensure the organization and coordination of bilateral and the implementation of multilateral interstate settlement operations between central (national) banks for commercial and other operations and their periodic completion based on multilateral clearing (offset of mutual claims).
2. The Bank, within the scope of powers delegated to it by the respective (legislative and/or executive) authorities of the Contracting Parties, shall carry out the coordination of the monetary policy of the member states being parties to the Agreement, including the organization of management of the issue of national currencies in cash and the loan issue by the banks of the Contracting Parties.
3. The Bank shall promote effective and reliable operation of payment systems in all the member states. For this purpose, it shall coordinate the work on accounting, reporting, and payment instruments standardization, as well as settlement practices in all the member states of the Bank. It shall produce offers on the provision of commercial banks supervision policies.
4. The Bank shall provide short-term lending to central (national) banks for the purpose of timely completion of settlements.
5. The Bank shall consider and review the economic condition of the Contracting Parties, prepare offers and recommendations to central (national) banks on coordination of their monetary and foreign exchange policies.
6. In order to ensure that the Bank fulfills its functions and objectives, the central (national) banks shall provide the latter with their balance sheets, balances of payments, and other data according to the form and at intervals as determined by the Bank’s Board.
The Bank shall consolidate the data received and distribute the same among its members on a regular basis.
7. Upon the resolution of the Bank’s Board, the Bank shall carry out other banking transactions, in accordance with the goals and objectives of the Bank arising out of the Agreement Establishing the Reserve Interstate Bank and the Bank’s Articles of Association.
Article 3.
CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT CURRENCY
1. All the clearing and settlement transactions carried out by the Bank shall be recorded in the US dollars.
2. Central (national) banks may keep their assets with the Bank.
3. The available assets of the Bank shall be kept on correspondent accounts with both Central, and other correspondent banks.
4. Resources of the Bank for credit financing of settlement transactions shall be formed by virtue of assets of the central (national) banks kept with the Reserve Interstate Bank, as well as by means of loan facilities to be opened in a due course.
5. Central (national) banks shall be entitled to transfer their assets kept with the Bank to their own accounts with the Central Banks of other members.
6. The rate and procedure for the accrual of interests on assets and liabilities of the Bank shall be determined by the Bank’s Board.
7. Central (national) banks – Bank Members, if necessary, shall determine, on a daily basis, the exchange rate of their currency to the US dollar, which shall be communicated to the Bank.
8. Central (national) banks – Bank Members shall denominate their payment undertakings to be sent to the Bank in US dollars with the use of the declared US dollar exchange rate of each currency according to its quotation by Bank Members, who issue such currency as of the day of transmission of the payment undertakings.
Article 4.
ORGANIZATION OF MULTILATERAL CLEARING
1. The Bank shall provide the implementation of the clearing and completion of settlements at certain time intervals in respect of interstate obligations of central (national) banks.
The transmission of all the information on payments between the central (national) banks and the Bank shall be implemented by telephone, telex, telegraph or via electronic communication means.
2. The originating central (national) bank shall send to the Bank its payment instructions denominated in the national currency, with the conversion into US dollars of the payment currency used by the commercial bank, if necessary.
3. The Bank, on a daily basis, shall estimate net liabilities payable or receivable by each central (national) bank and reflect the said estimates on the respective accounts with the central (national) banks.
4. The Bank, on a daily basis, shall inform each central (national) bank of its net current clearing position, as well as of the numbers of instructions of such bank which were accepted to clearing.
5. The central (national) bank in the recipient state shall debit the account with the originating central (national) bank and credit the account of the recipient commercial bank solely upon receipt of a clearing confirmation from the Bank.
6. Any central (national) bank that allows any overlimit of its additional credit within the clearing period shall eliminate such overlimit in full within one calendar week upon occurrence of (such overlimit) any deficiency. For this purpose, any Bank Member may use special access to the funds of the credit pending clearance, as specified in clause 7 of article 5.
7. In case of adjustment of settlement positions of the central (national) banks within the settlement period, the balancing by the Bank shall release the central (national) banks from their gross liabilities created between them and replace them with net liabilities or liabilities for their benefit.
Central (national) banks shall be responsible solely for balanced net liabilities or have the right solely to the balanced net liabilities for their benefit.
8. Each central (national) bank shall be obliged to take all necessary measures to accelerate the transmission of interstate payments within its respective state and to process both incoming and outgoing payments at an accelerated rate and without delays. The Bank shall exercise supervision over timely transmission of payments among central (national) banks and propose measures to accelerate the same.
Article 5.
SETTLEMENT OF MULTILATERAL LIABILITIES
1. The settlement among central (national) banks following the clearing results shall be carried out at certain intervals on their accounts with the Bank.
2. Primarily, the settlement period shall be fifteen calendar days. The duration of the settlement period may be revised by the Bank’s Board, in reliance on the Bank’s experience.
3. As of the date of completion of clearing settlements, the Bank shall carry out the settlement of claims and liabilities of central (national) banks. Balanced net liabilities for their benefit shall primarily be used to repay the outstanding settlement loans. The remaining amount of the balanced net liabilities for their benefit shall be transferred as a deposit to the settlement account of the central (national) bank. Central (national) banks with balanced net liabilities shall take measures to meet their liabilities to the Bank prior to the settlement date, which includes the use of their deposits with the Bank, borrowings or purchases of national currencies from other Bank Members.
4. The Bank Members shall execute the settlement in full upon fulfillment of their respective obligations to the Bank.
Central (national) banks – Bank Members shall be obliged to repay their liabilities to the Bank within three days upon receipt of a notice from the Bank of occurrence of such liabilities.
If any Bank Member fails to carry out the settlement (to meet its liabilities to the Bank), the Bank shall cease accepting its payment instructions and shall inform the Bank Members accordingly. Upon expiration of two settlement periods, if any Bank Member fails to meet its liabilities, it shall be subject to sanctions up to and including the expulsion from the Bank.
5. Settlement loans shall be granted to central (national) banks via four equal loan facilities. The first two facilities making up to 50 percent of the loan limit for the member state, as specified in clause 8 of this article, shall have a basic interest rate as fixed by the Bank’s Board. The interest on two additional loan facilities shall be fixed at a higher rate that shall grow for each subsequent loan facility.
6. Access by the central (national) bank to the funds of the settlement loan granted by the Bank shall be subject to a credit limit of the state and the limit of the additional loan.
The state’s credit limit shall mean a maximum amount of a loan to be granted by the Bank to the central (national) bank; it shall be fixed by the Bank’s Board in the amount not exceeding the average monthly amount of returns for the benefit of such state.
The additional loan limit shall mean a maximum amount of the additional loan that can be granted to each central (national) bank within the interval between two settlement periods. The additional loan limit shall be equal to one third of the state’s credit limit.
If the available amount of settlement loans granted to the central (national) bank exceeds 87 percent of the state’s credit limit, then the limit of the fourth loan facility shall equal the difference between the amount of the state’s credit limit and the amount of available settlement loans.
7. In order to ensure the payment for major transactions (a transaction shall be deemed major if defined as such by the Bank’s Board) within the clearing period, the special access to the funds of the settlement loan may be used. Such special access to the funds shall be limited to a 50-percent limit of the additional loan, provided that the overall amount of the settlement loan does not exceed the state’s credit limit and it may be granted solely to those members who already enjoy a certain amount of the loan disbursed to them under special access terms. The loans with special access shall be repaid within one settlement period.
8. The threshold amount of the loan to be provided by the Bank to each central (national) bank shall be fixed by the Bank’s Board, as a rule, in the amount not exceeding the average monthly amount of returns for the benefit of such central (national) bank.
Article 6.
CAPITAL AND ASSETS OF THE BANK
1. The initial authorized capital of the Bank in the amount equivalent to fifty billion US dollars shall be accumulated via contributions from founders and Bank Members in the amounts to be determined by the Bank’s Board.
2. Any contributions to the authorized capital of the Reserve Interstate Bank may be made in national currencies, as well as in a freely convertible currency, buildings, structures, equipment, as well as other valuables and property.
3. The amount of the authorized capital of the Bank may be modified on the resolution of the Bank’s Board.
When admitting a new state to be a Bank Member, the amount of the authorized capital of the Bank shall be increased by the amount of the membership fee of such new member. The amount, method, timeframe, and procedure for the payment of the membership fee into the authorized capital of the Bank by the new member of the Bank shall be determined by the Bank’s Board in coordination with the new member.
4. The Bank may, out of its profits, form a reserve and other funds, the amount, goals and procedure for the formation and expenditure of which shall be determined by the Bank’s Board.
5. The Bank shall incur its current expenses out of its interest earnings and commission fees for the services rendered to central (national) banks.
The tariffs for the Bank’s services, the amount of interest rates and a cost estimate of the Bank shall be subject to approval by the Bank’s Board.
6. The Bank may attract loan resources and allocate the same for the benefit of the Bank Members.
Article 7.
BANK’S MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
1. The supreme management body of the Bank is the Bank’s Board that includes one authorized representative of each Contracting Party. Each Bank Member shall have one vote for the purposes of meetings of the Bank’s Board, irrespective of the amount of its membership fee. The Bank Members shall officially inform all the Contracting Parties of appointment of their respective authorized representatives to the Bank’s Board and their two deputies who are entitled to perform the duties of the authorized representative in his/her absence.
2. The Bank’s Board shall hold its meetings at least once a year in the city where the Bank’s office is located. Ad hoc meetings of the Bank’s Board shall be convened at the request of the Bank’s President, when he/she may deem it reasonable or when requested in writing by any two Board members of the Bank. Resolutions of the Bank’s Board shall be adopted by qualified majority equaling seventy-five percent of the total number of votes.
3. The Bank’s Board shall have the following powers to:
– adopt resolutions on admittance of new members of the Bank;
– adopt resolutions on the increase in the authorized capital of the Bank;
– every five years, consider and approve the report of the Bank’s President;
– on the suggestion of the Bank’s President, adopt the Bank’s budget and hear the report on the budget implementation;
– approve threshold amounts of settlement loans to central (national) banks, amounts of applicable interest rates and tariffs for the Bank’s services, internal regulations and rules of activities of the Bank;
– adopt resolutions on sanctions and fines, as well as on measures to be applied to those members who fail to observe the rules and basic provisions of the Agreement, the Articles of Association, and respective Memoranda/Minutes associated with the Bank.
4. In order to hold meetings of the Bank’s Board, the members shall elect a Chairman of the Bank’s Board among them on an annual basis. Nobody may perform the duties of the Chairman for more than five years in succession, however, after a one-year break he/she may become Chairman again. In case of occurrence of a vacant position of the Chairman at a regular Board meeting, the members shall elect a new Chairman.
5. The Bank’s Board shall appoint and dismiss the Bank’s President by at least 75% (seventy-five percent) of votes. The President shall be responsible for the operational management of the Bank and preparation of materials to be considered at the Board meetings.
The Bank’s President shall be personally accountable to the Bank’s Board for the results of the current activities of the Bank. The President shall determine the number and duties of employees of the Reserve Interstate Bank, hire and dismiss them.
6. The Bank’s President shall determine regulations and rules, as necessary, which shall be observed in the Bank with respect to all the matters, other than those provided for in the Agreement Establishing the Reserve Interstate Bank, these Articles of Association or the corresponding memoranda/minutes.
7. The Bank’s President may engage experts for the performance of particular works.
8. Salary and other forms of remuneration to the Bank’s President shall be determined by the Bank’s Board.
Article 8. MISCELLANEOUS
1. Responsibility of the Bank. The Bank shall not be responsible for two-way payments among central (national) banks.
2. Expulsion. No Bank Member may be expelled from the Bank, unless it is in breach of any article of the Agreement and the Articles of Association of the Bank. Shall those articles be violated, on the recommendation of the Bank’s President; such member may be expelled from the Bank by 75% qualified majority of votes of the Bank’s Board.
3. Withdrawal. Any Bank Member may withdraw from the Bank, having notified the Bank’s Board of its intention at least six months prior to the withdrawal. Within the said period, the Bank and the respective Contracting Party shall settle their relations in respect of any mutual liabilities.
4. Observance of the Agreement. The Bank’s Board, the Bank’s President and all of its employees shall observe the Agreement, these Articles of Association and the resolutions adopted by the Bank’s Board.
5. For any violation of the regulations or any deviation from basic areas of activities, as specified in the Agreement on Approval of the Interstate Bank, these Articles of Association, resolutions of the Bank’s Board, the Bank Members shall be subject to penalties to be fixed by the Bank’s Board. In case of any repeated violation, the respective Bank Member shall submit a written explanation to the Bank’s Board.
6. Audit of the Bank’s activities. The Bank shall be subject to an audit in accordance with the international standards, on an annual basis.
7. Procedure for the consideration of disputes. Any claims to the Bank may be laid within three years upon accrual of the right of action.
Disputes between the Bank and its members shall be referred to arbitration.
8. Privileges and immunities shall be additionally determined by the Contracting Parties.
9. The financial year of the Reserve Interstate Bank shall start on January 01 and end on December 31.
10. Annual balance sheets of the Bank shall be approved by the Bank’s Board and published according to the procedure established by the Bank’s Board.
11. Allocation of profit. The Bank’s profit, upon approval of the annual statement, shall be allocated according to the resolution of the Bank’s Board and may be used to replenish its reserve funds and for other purposes.
12. Termination of the Bank’s operations. The Bank’s operations may be terminated upon unanimous resolution to be adopted by the Bank Members.
13. Any and all supplements and amendments to these Articles of Association shall be made in writing and approved by the resolution of the meeting of all the Bank Members to be adopted by 75% majority of votes out of all votes of the Bank Members.