A bank in Singapore, OCBC, has scored a first with the launch of bespoke tokenized bonds to corporate accredited investors, a major step forward for Singapore’s efforts to promote the usage of tokenized assets. “The tokenized bonds, which reference investment grade bonds, are structured based on the client’s desired tenor and yield. They are then… Read More >>
SIFMA’s DLT Experiment Could Overhaul Ops
A groundbreaking proof-of-concept initiative led by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and involving major financial services firms and top financial technology providers has shown the “potential advantages of implementing a shared ledger system” for post-trade operations that could spur “innovation in securities settlement processes” via improved operational efficiency, real-time liquidity access, and… Read More >>
CFTC Mulls Ops Changes for Non-Cash Collateral
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is mulling recommendations that would not need to become rules but would lead to operational changes governing the use of non-cash collateral for margin requirements and might pave the way for more clarity in the regulation of digital assets for U.S. markets. The CFTC permits using non-cash assets as… Read More >>
ESG Data, A.I. & DLT Top IT Agendas
Despite controversy and predictions of its death, principled investments based upon environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns are alive and kicking as evidenced by growing demands for ESG data. Also very much alive are artificial intelligence (A.I.) technologies, which could prove to be cost-effective for automated compliance and regulatory reporting, and for middle- and back-office… Read More >>
Time to Integrate Digital Asset Securities?
(Jacek Bugaj, the new head of product at Prometheum Inc., is on a mission to integrate the emerging benefits of digital asset securities within traditional market infrastructure. Bugaj will oversee the development, launch, and maintenance of Prometheum’s suite of products, which are delivered via SEC-registered and FINRA-member entities Prometheum ATS and Prometheum Capital. His mission… Read More >>
Digital Assets & DLT Grow in Popularity & Risk
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) and digital assets are becoming the preferred way to meet cash and liquidity requirements for digital securities settlements, according to a report from Citi Securities Services. However, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is cautioning that banks using permissionless a.k.a public blockchains face “risks related to operations and security, governance, legal,… Read More >>
State Street & Taurus to Build Digital Custody Services
State Street Corp. is bolstering its digital asset solutions business via an agreement with Taurus SA, a digital asset infrastructure provider, in response to institutional interest in digital assets that’s “at an all-time high,” according to the Boston-based custodian bank. The collaboration will add tokenization and digital custody services support to the custodian’s currently available… Read More >>
Cboe Clear Europe & ABN Amro Test CBDC as Collateral
Cboe Clear Europe, a pan-European clearinghouse, and ABN Amro Clearing Bank N.V., report that they have been testing the use of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as collateral, essentially exploring the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT). In particular, they have been “testing the viability of the solution for margin calls outside the opening… Read More >>
iCapital Embraces DLT for New Fund
iCapital, which offers an alternative investment platform, has launched its first fund that exploits distributed ledger technology (DLT) to save clients “thousands of hours of manual data reconciliation and version sharing,” and promises to cut costs, boost productivity, and reduce the risks of manual data entry. Using DLT to ease these pain points is intended… Read More >>
Citi & Wellington Explore the Disruptive Power of Tokens
Late last year, Citi, Wellington Management, WisdomTree, and DTCC officials conducted a proof of concept (POC) experiment to explore how tokenization could be applied to private funds and to test the capital markets capabilities of blockchain technology. “Tokenization is the process of issuing a digital representation of an asset on a blockchain,” according to a… Read More >>