Standard Chartered has become the first G-SIB and the first UK issuer to issue digitally native notes through Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure D-FMI.
The bank announced that it had issued USD 200 million of three-year floating-rate digitally native notes using distributed ledger technology through Euroclear’s D-FMI.
The notes have been submitted for admission to trading on the International Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange, with Standard Chartered acting as sole dealer for the transaction.
The issuance represents another step towards integrating distributed ledger technology into established capital markets infrastructure. Euroclear’s D-FMI allows digital international securities to be issued within a regulated market infrastructure environment while maintaining links to existing issuance, settlement and servicing processes.
For Standard Chartered, the transaction also marks the extension of its digital bond expertise into its own funding programme. The bank has previously supported clients on a number of digital debt capital markets transactions.
Vikash Mistry, Deputy Group Treasurer at Standard Chartered, said the transaction demonstrates how digital issuance can be incorporated into an established funding programme while maintaining connectivity with international market infrastructure and existing investor workflows.
Ankur Prakash, Head of Digital and Strategic Initiatives, Global Banking at Standard Chartered, described the issuance as an important step towards the mainstream institutional adoption of digital capital markets infrastructure, pointing to growing interest in how DLT can support the digitisation of financial assets and improve efficiency across the capital markets value chain.
Sebastien Danloy, Chief Business Officer at Euroclear, said the transaction demonstrates how digitally native issuance can be integrated with existing financial market infrastructure, allowing market participants to pursue greater efficiency and transparency while retaining access to established liquidity channels and trading venues.
The transaction builds on Standard Chartered’s involvement in previous digital debt issuances, including Emirates NBD’s AED 1 billion digitally native bond issued on Euroclear’s D-FMI and Doha Bank’s USD 150 million digital bond, which Standard Chartered supported as Sole Lead Manager.
