Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to questions from private individuals

On this page, bank offices will find information that helps them answering questions from bank clients about securities accounts and other questions regarding buying and selling securities.

What is the difference between having securities in an owner-registered account and registered in a custody account registered with a nominee?

Having securities registered in an owner-registered account means that the shareholder is personally registered as owner in our register.

Having securities registered in a custody account with a nominee means that the bank or broker collect their customers’ holdings in a common securities account in our system, called a nominee account. 

The bank is registered as owner of the nominee account, “in the place of the owner”. In turn, your securities are placed in an individual custody account in your name with the nominee.

Regardless of how the shareholder’s securities are registered, the shareholder must always contact their bank/broker regarding any questions concerning the securities and/or the account.

A shareholder does not have an annual statement for the securities account

If a shareholder does not have the annual statement, the bank can provide a copy of the most recent annual statement by logging in to the VPC system and using the ”KRUT” transaction. If it concerns an annual statement for previous years, Euroclear can provide it on behalf of the bank. Orders should be sent to clear_settle@euroclear.com

Who receives an annual statement and what information does it contain?

Euroclear sends out annual statements during January for all securities accounts where there is either a holding booked as of 31 December or where payments have been made during the year. The shareholder receives one annual statement per securities account.

The annual statement includes the telephone number for the account operator to which the securities account is linked. The bank office can update information about the office's address and telephone number via the KKKU transaction. These details are used by the system for print-out of notifications as well as annual statements.

Closing price and market value of securities account

At year-end, Euroclear receives closing prices from SIX Telekurs Sweden AB, as well as Nordic Growth Market (NGM) or other regulated marketplaces. These are used to calculate the market value on the annual statements.

Acquisition value

Shareholders who have to prepare a tax return and want to know the acquisition value (the amount that was paid when buying the securities including commission) of the securities that have been sold during the previous year and do not have their contract note, should contact the account operator in charge of the account which made the purchase on their behalf. Note that Euroclear does not have information about acquisition value or sale proceeds.

How tax is withheld on dividend from non-Swedish shares/depository receipts

Swedish preliminary tax on income from capital normally amounts to 30 per cent and is levied for natural persons who are residents in Sweden as well as for Swedish estates. For non-Swedish securities, deductions for preliminary tax on dividends will be levied with the amount of 30 per cent minus what has already been withheld abroad.

Distribution of shares managed by Euroclear Sweden

Dividends or allocation in form of securities that are managed by Euroclear are reported in the annual statement as allocation of shares. Allocation of shares can be reported in quantity or nominal amount. If allocation of shares/dividends has been reported in the annual statement, its value can be fully or partially taxable income. Statement of earnings and deductions is submitted by Euroclear to the Swedish Tax Agency where Euroclear is obliged to do so.

Tax-free dividends

Dividends or allocations that the shareholder receives from a limited company are normally taxed, regardless of whether the dividend is in the form of cash, securities or something else. However, under certain conditions dividends are not taxed. This applies to dividends from shares in subsidiaries under the so-called Lex Asea rules. In such cases, the annual statement shows the number of shares distributed.

Shareholders who have not received an annual statement

If there were no posted holdings on 31/12 and no payments were made during the year, Euroclear does not issue an annual statement.

Does it cost anything to have a Securities account?

The first securities account is free of charge. An invoice, which relates to the administrative costs, is sent out if the shareholder has more than one ordinary securities account with a holding as of 31 December.

1 securities account: 0 SEK/year
2 securities accounts: 50 SEK/year
3 securities accounts: 75 SEK/year
Joint owner account: 75 SEK/holder per year.

Euroclear does not charge a fee for pledge accounts, pre-emption accounts or so called exchange of assets accounts created in connection with share issues.

How does the shareholder buy and sell securities?

The easiest way for shareholders who want to buy and sell securities is via their account operator, i.e. the bank or broker which has opened the securities account. The shareholder can also give another account operator authorisation to buy/sell on behalf of him/her. Purchase orders or sales orders are submitted to the account operator that the shareholder chooses to engage.

Euroclear Sweden does not execute any commissions that involve buying or selling securities. Neither do we have any information about purchase or sales remittances; only the account operator has that information.

What is a contract note and who provides it?

The day after a transaction, the shareholder receives a contract note from the shareholder’s account operator, i.e. a bank or broker. Among other things, the contract note shows the total acquisition value at which the transaction was made the settlement date.

What does settlement date mean?

The settlement date is the date when the change in the holding is booked in the securities account and the shareholder makes or receives payment. The settlement date can therefore sometimes be called posting date or payment date. The payment schedule in the stockbroking business is currently two banking days. This means that the purchase or sale is booked on the second banking day after the trade date.

Registration before a general meeting

Shareholders who have their shares registered in an owner-registered account are automatically included in the general meeting register of shareholders. For shareholders who have their shares registered in a custody account with a nominee, the nominee must register the shares in the shareholder’s name for voting rights, in order for the individual to be included in the general meeting register of shareholders.

The shareholder then registers directly to the company for participation at the general meeting.  

What does the shareholder need to consider in connection with bonus issue or split?

With a bonus issue or split, the shareholder does not need to take any action. The shareholder receives a notice confirming that he/she has received new shares and any bonus shares (DR) in the securities account.

How are shares subscribed in a new share issue?

To participate in a new share issue, the shareholder must be registered as owner on the record day. The shareholder obtains a prospectus and a report with payment slip as well as a notice confirming that subscription rights (TR) have been booked into the securities account.

Shareholders who wish to exercise their subscription rights and purchase more shares in the company pay for the new shares with the payment slip. Shareholders who only wish to exercise a part of the subscription rights contact one of the issuing banks specified in the prospectus. An application form is sometimes supplied where the shareholder can enter how many of the subscription rights the shareholder wants to exercise. The shareholder then pays solely for the rights that he/she exercises. The issuing bank books out the subscription rights from the securities account and instead books in the shares that have been subscribed and paid for (BTA). When the issue is completed, the shares that have been subscribed and paid for are booked out and the shares (AK) are booked into the securities account.

The shareholder can choose to sell the subscription rights instead of exercising them. The shareholder’s account operator, i.e. the shareholders’ bank or broker, helps to sell the subscription rights. If the shareholder does not exercise his or her subscription rights during the subscription period, the subscription rights are removed from the securities account without the shareholder receiving any compensation.

What happens if a company wants to buy up the company in which the shareholder has shares?

If there is a takeover bid, the shareholder receives a prospectus, application form and usually a report detailing the shares to which the offer applies and how many of them the shareholder has. The prospectus sets out which price the shareholder will receive for his or her shares. 

If the shareholder decides to accept the offer, the shareholder sends the application form to the issuing bank which is dealing with the purchase. The issuing bank reserves the shares in a specific "non-cash account” during the takeover period. Payment is dealt with by the issuing bank.

If the shareholder does not accept the offer and the purchasing company has acquired 90 per cent of the shares, the purchasing company can redeem the remaining 10 per cent. This is called compulsory purchase. The value of the shareholders' shares is then set in arbitration or by a court.

If the purchasing company does not want to fulfil the offer, then the shares are restored to the original securities account by Euroclear.