In a new blog post, the mediator of the Autorité des marchés financiers has reminded us that the compulsory liquidation of a listed company does not in itself allow its securities to be removed from a stock portfolio – PEA or ordinary securities account.
” The delisting of securities from Euronext and the fact that the securities are most often declared worthless (indicated at zero on the plan, Editor’s note)do not, on their own, make it possible to delete the securities concerned from a securities account », explains Marielle Cohen-Branche.
” In fact, securities can only be taken out of clients’ accounts when the company no longer has a legal existence, that is to say when it is dissolved at the end of the judicial liquidation. In the meantime (i.e. between the judgment opening the liquidation, and that of its closing, editor’s note), which can last for many years, the line is thus maintained in the portfolio, even if it is valued at zero “, she recalls.
Imputation of capital losses in advance
From a taxation point of view, however, the AMF Mediator points out that if these securities are held in an ordinary securities account, their holder is entitled to set off their capital losses against capital gains of the same nature in advance, without waiting for the closing of the judicial liquidation. An operation that will allow them to “purge” these titles for tax purposes without waiting several years.
The removal of worthless securities from an account line is also possible, and without detrimental tax consequences, if the securities are no longer held by the financial intermediary (“bearer” holding) but directly with the listed company. , that is to say in the pure nominative form. An exit which makes it possible to avoid continuing to pay custody fees on securities often at zero value and delisted.
Account closures: possible options
Madame Cohen-Branche regrets, however, ” that certain account keepers (TCC) continue to charge custody fees and that the customers concerned may be opposed by said professionals when they request the closure of their account”.
For better protection of savers, the AMF Mediator recommends that professionals offer their clients various options likely to resolve this type of conflict, such as the conversion of shares to pure registered form mentioned above, which will therefore allow the exit of securities of an account before the closing of the judicial liquidation, or even the transfer for a symbolic euro of the securities to the account holder, a situation negotiated by the mediator on the occasion of a file.
This solution “pmakes it possible to delete the line from the portfolio and is therefore of interest, in particular when the closing of the account is precisely prevented by the presence of securities in compulsory liquidation”, And ” born does not deprive the customer of the ability to charge his capital loss, if he has not already charged it in advance. ” An option ” without inconvenience », which is not accepted by all establishments, and therefore depends on a case-by-case basis.
Finally, financial intermediaries can also offer their clients a “withdrawal”, i.e. to voluntarily give up their securities: their line is thus deleted, which is of particular interest when savers wish to close a PEA for example, and that this closure is precisely prevented by the presence of securities whose issuer is placed in judicial liquidation.
But beware: the withdrawal is accompanied by the final waiver of all rights of claim vis-à-vis the abandoned securities, including the possible possibility of a loss charge. If the saver has already charged the loss of these zero securities to his capital gain, this solution must therefore be avoided, underlines the Mediator.