On 3 September 2020, a new European Directive, the Shareholders Rights Directive II ("SRD II"), will enter into force introducing important regulatory changes for intermediaries. SRD II aims to encourage long-term shareholder engagement in European shares by introducing new requirements, including:

• Obligations for all intermediaries in the chain of custody to provide shareholders information to issuers on demand and no later than the business day immediately following the date of receipt of the request;
• Requirements for intermediaries to make available meeting announcements or any other information which an issuer is required to provide to shareholders to enable a shareholder to exercise its rights
• Requirements for intermediaries to facilitate the ability of shareholders to participate in meetings by passing on a shareholder's participation instructions (for example a vote or request to attend the meeting), without delay.

Note that the Directive applies to any intermediary, whether based in the EEA or not. Accordingly, IBKR may in the future forward any request to provide shareholders information that IBKR may receive from issuers (or other appointed entities) whose share is owned through the IBKR accounts of an intermediary or their clients.

Upon receipt of these requests, intermediaries will be required to provide shareholders information directly to the issuers no later than the business day immediately following the date of receipt of the request.

Information to Disclose

• Full name;
• Contact details (address, email address);
• Unique identifiers;
• Number of shares held;
• Category/classes of shares held (Only if explicitly requested);
• Dates from which the shares are held (Only if explicitly requested);
• Depository location;
• Vote-eligible shares.

Requests Thresholds

Member states can establish that the right of the issuer to obtain the shareholders information is only effective with regard to holding of a minimum percentage of voting rights, which where set cannot exceed 0.5%.

Requests Handling

IBKR will send these requests in a standardised electronic format. Shareholders information shall be provided directly to the issuer (or other third party entity appointed) in the format prescribed by SRD II. We recommend that intermediaries review the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018 1212, which details the regulatory formats.

IBKR has appointed a third party provider, Mediant, to facilitate the requests handling. To use their services, they can be contacted directly at SRDTabulations@mediantonline.com.

Alternatively, intermediaries should ensure that they have alternative ways to reply to these requests for information after 3 September 2020.