RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS: IMPACT TO iSHARES ETFs

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022. On Mar 10, 2022, BlackRock first published a list of actions taken in response and began providing updates specific to the iShares MSCI Russia ETF which held impacted securities. This post has been updated periodically to reflect key developments related to index changes and the status of the Russian marketplace.

BlackRock stands with the Ukrainian people and condemns the brutal aggression of the Russian government. As our CEO Larry Fink stated in 2022, this is a horrific humanitarian tragedy and BlackRock is doing what it can to provide support to those impacted.

Since the invasion began, BlackRock has continued to consult with regulators, index providers and other market participants to help our funds to exit their positions in Russian securities, consistent with removal of the securities from applicable underlying indexes, whenever and wherever regulatory and market conditions allow. BlackRock’s Pricing Committees determine fair market values for the Russian securities in our index portfolios through a formal process governed by a pricing policy.

BlackRock will continue to manage our funds as a fiduciary, taking a disciplined, pragmatic and adaptable approach to reflecting index changes, while remaining in compliance with all sanctions.

As BlackRock continues to manage impacted investments throughout this crisis, below is a summary of the actions we have taken to date:

• BlackRock suspended the purchase of Russian securities in our active and index funds on Feb 28, 2022.
• All major index providers began the removal of Russian securities from their indexes beginning the week of Mar 7, 2022, including from many broad-based international and emerging markets indexes that iShares ETFs seek to track.
• BlackRock suspended the issuance of shares in the iShares MSCI Russia ETF (ERUS) on Mar 1, 2022 and trading of ERUS was halted on U.S. exchanges on Mar 4, 2022.
• BlackRock Fund Advisors (BFA) waived the accrued management fee on ERUS for the month of Feb 2022 and began voluntarily waiving its management fee for ERUS starting in Mar 2022. This voluntary waiver will continue in effect while the Fund liquidates.
• On Aug 17, 2022, an initial liquidation distribution was sent to shareholders of ERUS pursuant to the Board of Directors of iShares, Inc.’s approval of the liquidation of the Fund.
• On December 14, 2023, the Board of Directors of iShares, Inc. unanimously voted to continue to have ERUS managed pursuant to the plan of liquidation through December 31, 2024 (absent significant market developments).

Please follow this link to view underlying holdings of the iShares MSCI Russia ETF as of Feb 18, 2022, the last trading day before the Russian escalation of hostilities, which can be compared with current holdings on the individual fund webpage.