Information for holders of shares in the US

How does DNB hold shares abroad?

We at DNB hold foreign shares in a client account at a central securities depository (CSD) where we as a bank are a member. Alternatively, we can hold shares in a client account through an agent bank in markets where DNB itself is not a member of the securities depository. US shares, such as GameStop, are held in a client account at DNB's American agent bank.

Your shares are held separately from DNB and any agent bank's own funds, and will not form part of a bankruptcy estate. All shares are held and transferred in electronic form in accordance with the rules of the local market.

Can DNB or the agent bank lend my shares?

No, neither DNB nor DNB's agent banks lend shares belonging to DNB's customers without explicit instruction from you as a customer.

Can I transfer my shares to direct registration with the account manager?

Yes, let us say that you have, for example, bought GME shares through DNB. We can then, upon instruction from you, transfer the shares to direct registration with the company's account manager in the US.

We only execute transfers for our own customers

DNB cannot receive individual transfers of US shares from other investments firms. If you wish to transfer your shares to DNB, you must become a customer with us and instruct DNB to transfer your entire portfolio from the other securities firm.

A transfer can take some time

Let us take the example of Gamestop (GME) again. The account manager for GME is Computershare. If you transfer your shares to Gamestop's account manager, you will lose the ability to manage the shares during the period from when the shares are delivered from DNB until you have gained full access to your account with the account manager.

We allow 10 working days in order to instruct the transfer of shares to the account manager, and once the shares are delivered to the account manager, neither DNB nor you can manage them until you have gained full access to your account held by the account manager.

The shares will become unavailable from your portfolio at DNB the moment DNB begins the transfer process, but this does not mean that the shares have been delivered to the account manager.

After the transfer, you must deal directly with the account manager in the US

Once the shares are delivered to the account manager in the US, you as a customer will receive an account statement in the post from the account manager with information on how to activate your new account on the account manager's website. When you have activated the account, you will receive new login information in the regular post that you can use to manage your shares with the account manager. This means that a long time may pass from when your shares become unavailable at DNB until you can manage the shares with the account manager again.

Once the shares are delivered to the account manager, you will no longer be able to sell them via DNB. DNB will then also be unable to report these shares to the tax authorities, and you must therefore report this yourself in your tax return.

Your account with Computershare will not contain the tax cost basis for the shares transferred from DNB. If you later wish to sell your shares with Computershare, you must ensure that your account with Computershare is 'tax certified', and you must report the relevant information to the Norwegian tax authorities yourself.

NOTE! DNB has no relationship with the account manager, which means that once your shares are transferred from DNB to the account manager in the US, you must direct your enquiries to the account manager there.

How to request the transfer of your shares

If you wish to transfer your US shares to a transfer agent in the US, you must send us a message from the logged-in page in the online bank with the following information:

1. National identity number/organisation number associated with your securities account at DNB
2. First name, surname and address
3. Name/ticker of the share that must be transferred to the transfer agent (e.g. GME if it concerns Gamestop)
4. Number of shares that must be transferred.

Transfer of shares to a transfer agent in the US costs NOK 2,000

Log in to the online bank, go to Equity trading and click on "contact us" at the bottom of the page.

How to participate in Annual General Meetings (AGM) in the US?

If you are a DNB customer and own shares traded and held in the US, you can participate in most general meetings there. However, to exercise your right to participate, a so-called control number must first be established. The control number is linked to the shareholding in your securities account for foreign trading. You can order this via the email address below, and we will arrange it on your behalf through a custodian bank in the US.

As soon as you have received your control number, you can go to www.proxyvote.com and vote.

It costs NOK 2,000 to arrange all the practicalities

Currently, a fee of NOK 2,000 is charged to arrange all the practicalities and create a control number on your behalf. See the price list further down on this page.

If DNB does not provide the control number before the deadline for participating in the AGM, you will of course not be charged.

I have questions that are not answered above, who do I contact?

If you have further questions about participation in general meetings or your ownership of shares abroad, send us your questions by email, and we will respond as soon as possible.