On 22 December 2008 the President signed Federal Law No. 264-FZ amending the Mortgage Law and other legislative acts. The Law entered into force on 26 January 2009.

The amendments seek to streamline the legal framework for the turnover of mortgage deeds by introducing the depositary registration of rights to mortgage deeds and transactions with them.

Under the Law, a mortgage deed may be issued at any time before the secured obligations are terminated. Further, a mortgage deed may be transferred by the mortgage deed holder to the depositary (a professional participant in the securities market) for registration, provided there is a special record about it on the mortgage deed. As a result, rights to a mortgage deed and transactions with it (for example, a transfer or pledge) can be confirmed or performed through records in a respective depositary account.