Depositary Receipt

A depositary receipt is a negotiable security available in several formats that evidence shares or (much less frequently) debt in a company. American Depositary Receipts sold in the US market in US dollars reference securities of non-US companies, for example. Global Depositary Receipts offered in London reference the securities of global companies. DRs can represent fractions of underlying shares or multiple shares of reference companies. Companies themselves can issue DRs; DR can also be created by depositary banks with or without the consent of the underlying companies.