American Depository Receipts (ADR): Sometimes, shares of a firm are traded by indirect route in the form of depository receipts. The shares issued by the firm are held by a depository who is a large international bank which receives dividends, reports etc. and issues claims against these. The claims are called depository receipts. Each receipt is a claim on specified number of shares. The depository receipts are denominated in a foreign currency usually US dollars. The depository receipts are listed and traded on major stock exchanges. The issuing firm pays dividends in the home currency of the firm and the depository converts the same to dollar and pays to investors. This mechanism originated in the US and is called American Depository Receipts (ADRs).