The UK government has appointed Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest and RBC Capital Markets as Joint Lead Managers for its first digitally native government bond, marking the most concrete step yet in the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) programme.
City minister Lucy Rigby KC MP announced the line‑up, confirming that investor engagement can now begin ahead of a pilot issuance expected in early 2027. The banks were selected through a competitive procurement process and will oversee underwriting, distribution and investor outreach for the landmark transaction.
DIGIT will test how distributed‑ledger technology (DLT) can be applied across the lifecycle of a gilt — from issuance to settlement — using infrastructure operating inside the Digital Securities Sandbox. The pilot will be short‑dated and run separately from the UK’s main debt‑management programme.
Rigby said the appointment of lead managers shows the UK is moving from design to execution in its digital‑markets strategy.
“This marks an important step as we work towards issuance early next year,” she said. “We are testing new infrastructure and helping create the conditions for firms to innovate and invest.”
The programme builds on February’s appointment of HSBC as the DLT supplier and a July memorandum of understanding between HSBC and LSEG to develop a bilateral Digital Securities Depository link — a key component of the UK’s emerging digital‑asset market infrastructure.
