INTERNATIONAL DEPOSITORY RECEIPT (I.D.R.)

A receipt issued by a bank as evidence of ownership of one or more shares of the underlying stock of a foreign corporation that the bank holds in trust. The advantage of the I.D.R. structure is that the corporation does not have to comply with all the regulatory issuing requirements of the foreign country where the stock is to be traded. The U.S. version of the I.D.R. is the American Depository Receipt (A.D.R. ).