CREST (securities depository) (original) (raw)

CREST is a UK-based central securities depository that holds UK equities and UK gilts, as well as Irish equities and other international securities. It was named after its securities settlement system, CREST, and has been owned and operated by Euroclear since 2002. The name CREST stands for Certificateless Registry for Electronic Share Transfer.CREST allows shareholders and bondholders to hold assets in a dematerialised, i.e. electronic form, rather than holding physical share certificates. CREST also serves a number of other important functions, such as assisting in the payments of dividends to shareholders.