ACRA AFFIRMS AAA(RU) TO MOSCOW EXCHANGE, OUTLOOK STABLE

The highest possible credit rating of Moscow Exchange (hereinafter, Moscow Exchange, the Company, or the Group) with a stable Outlook is based on the Company’s leading competitive position as the country’s main exchange trading platform, providing the opportunity to conduct transactions on a wide range of asset classes in various markets and rendering many additional services to clients, including clearing and settlement and depository services. In ACRA’s opinion, over the next 12 to 18 months, the credit rating of Moscow Exchange will continue to be supported by the expected maintenance of the Company’s comfortable financial position and the potential for receiving external support if necessary, given the Group’s importance for the country’s financial sector.

The standalone creditworthiness assessment (SCA) of Moscow Exchange (aaa) reflects the highest assessment of the business profile, capital adequacy, and the liquidity and funding position, as well as an adequate risk profile. The Company’s final rating could have taken into account the potential for external support, assessed by ACRA as high, if the SCA had not already been at the maximum level.

Moscow Exchange is the largest Russian platform for organized trading of securities and other types of assets. In addition to Moscow Exchange, the Group also includes the central depository National Settlement Depository (ACRA rating: AAA(RU), outlook Stable) and the clearing center CCP NCC (ACRA rating: AAA(RU), outlook Stable).

KEY ASSESSMENT FACTORS

Highest assessment of the business profile (aa+). Despite the existence of competing stock exchange platforms in the Russian financial market, ACRA notes the Group’s confident leading role in the key areas of its activities.

Moscow Exchange includes infrastructure for trading stocks, bonds, derivatives, money market instruments, and currencies, as well as a central depository and a clearing center that carries out the functions of a central counterparty. In addition, Moscow Exchange is the operator of Russia’s first personal finance platform — Finuslugi. The combination of the abovementioned functions allows the Group to provide a wide range of services in terms of organizing trade and post-trading.

ACRA positively assesses the development strategy of Moscow Exchange, which is based on the use of its current strong market positions to further strengthen existing and launch new related business lines. In the next 12–18 months, the Group will continue its systematic work to expand the range of available instruments, products, services and solutions for financial market participants. Predictable comfortable financial results, according to the Agency’s expectations, will remain among the factors contributing to business stability.

Strong capital adequacy reflects ACRA’s opinion on the high capitalization of the Group and its proven ability to generate a comfortable level of income.

The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) calculated based on consolidated IFRS financial reporting as of the start of Q2 2026 was significant at 67% (ACRA additionally adjusts its calculations for the significant volume of assets, which, in the Agency’s opinion, do not put pressure on the Company’s capital, since they are counterbalanced by funds in liabilities as a loss absorption buffer; similar view of the risk-free nature of these assets is applied in the risk profile section). The regulatory capital adequacy ratio of 380% on the same date was well above the minimum requirement of 100%. ACRA expects strong capitalization metrics to be upheld in the next 12–18 months, despite Moscow Exchange’s traditionally high dividend payments, targeted at no less than 50% of profit in line with the Group’s strategy.

The Agency expects that over the next 12–18 months, the Company will be able to maintain the consolidated profitability metrics at levels comparable to the average values of the last full five years, which correspond to a return on equity of approximately 20–25%. The main sources of revenues continue to be commission fees and net interest income (which after 2021 were quite comparable in volume), however, the contribution of the former to operating income, as ACRA believes, will become increasingly significant.

Adequate risk profile. 80% of consolidated assets at the beginning of Q2 2026 were assets of the central counterparty characterized by low credit risks in view of a multi-level protection system, including a conservative margining policy (with continuous revaluation of positions at fair market value), as well as other mechanisms for reducing, netting and distributing credit risks built into operational activities, enshrined at a legal level and by regulations and clearing rules. These same features of the activity are taken into account by ACRA when assessing the risks of single-name concentration of central counterparty assets on the largest clearing parties, where, as the first line of the abovementioned multi-level protection system, the risks on assets, represented mainly by reverse repo transactions, are minimized by high-quality collateral received by the central counterparty, the size of which fully covers the claims to these clearing participants.

The assessment of the risk profile is additionally limited by operational risk caused by among other things the instability of the external environment.

Strong liquidity and funding position. ACRA notes a comfortable cushion of liquid assets, corresponding in volume and terms to the profile of the Group’s liabilities. The majority of the consolidated balance sheet consists of assets and liabilities of the central counterparty, equivalent in amounts and terms and with built-in, according to the clearing rules, specific mechanisms for managing the risks of liquidity and counterparty risk. With regard to the remaining part of the balance sheet, ACRA notes that the Company’s business model does not imply a significant need for financing other active operations, which considerably simplifies the management of liquidity and refinancing risks. Positive cumulative liquidity cushions on all terms confirm the Agency’s conclusions.

High degree of external support. ACRA notes the systemic importance of the Group for the country’s financial market and, in this regard, assesses the likelihood of external support, if necessary, as high. The Agency’s opinion is based on Moscow Exchange’s leading positions in terms of organizing trading in securities and other asset classes in the Russian financial market. In the event of financial or operational difficulties in the Company’s activities, the consequences for the financial market may be large-scale.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

• Maintaining the current operational model, competitive positions and role of the Company in the financial sector.

POTENTIAL OUTLOOK OR RATING CHANGE FACTORS

The Stable outlook assumes that the rating will highly likely stay unchanged within the 12 to 18-month horizon.

A negative rating action may be prompted by:

• Simultaneous significant decline of the SCA and potential for external support (however, given the current structure of the rating this scenario is quite unlikely).

RATING COMPONENTS

SCA: аaа.

Support: ACRA assumes that extraordinary support in the form of capital or liquidity can be provided if necessary. Since the Company’s SCA is aaa, the potential impact of support on its credit rating is not determined.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURE