Triodos Bank has put an end to the announced buy-back program that would have allowed duped certificate holders to sell their certificates at a significant loss of value. It is too complicated to execute a buyback program without undermining the trading of certificates any longer, the bank said on Monday. The ideal bank had released more than 14 million euros for the repurchase of depositary receipts (shares without control). It is now paid out as a dividend.
The roughly 45,000 depository receipt holders of Triodos have not been able to access their capital for 2.5 years, about 1.2 billion euros in total. Some have found themselves in financial difficulties as a result. For years, Triodos’ certificates were able to change hands via an internal system. When the corona pandemic broke out, too many people suddenly wanted to get rid of their certificates. This caused Triodos to get into trouble. As a result, the bank stopped trading in certificates.
With the announced buyback campaign, Triodos wanted to partially compensate the affected certificate holders. However, the promotion was sensitive: due to the lack of popularity of certificates, the price had dropped by 30 to 45 percent. The solution offered was therefore by no means ideal, but better than nothing for investors who were in dire need of money.
In 2021 Triodos announced its departure from the old way of doing things. The purchase and sale of certificates is now being moved to a closed trading system, a so-called multilateral trading facility (MTF), on which only pre-approved investors may operate. The financial institution expects to need more than a year before the new trading system is operational. Only then can trading in certificates be resumed.
Also read: Triodos certificate holders have not been allowed to trade for a year and a half, and may now suffer significant losses