EIB Launches First Digital Sterling Bond Product on Blockchain

UTC by Godfrey Benjamin · 3 min read
EIB Launches First Digital Sterling Bond Product on Blockchain
Photo: Depositphotos

The European Investment Bank occupies a very pivotal position in driving the financial landscape of the industry in the European Economic Area.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched the first Digital Sterling Bond on the blockchain as it deepens its use of the technology for more mainstream financial securities and products. As reported by Reuters, the EIB deployed a private blockchain to host the digital Sterling bonds, and it plans to float another copy on a public blockchain in a bid to foster transparency.

The launch of the digital sterling bond on the blockchain was achieved in partnership with the three financial services giants. These include French multinational banking giant, BNP Paribas SA (EPA: BNP), the British banking firm HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HSBC), and RBC Capital Markets.

Per the Reuters report, the digital Sterling bond is a 50 million pound ($61.60 million) floating rate bond that took its cue from the euro-denominated digital bonds that were previously launched by the European Investment Bank.

The new product is being hailed by industry experts and the EIB’s Vice President, Ricardo Mourinho Felix said the new product represents a new landmark in the financial services ecosystem.

“This new financial tool will provide additional capital flow that the EIB will invest in projects with global impact,” he said in a statement.

The European Investment Bank occupies a very pivotal position in driving the financial landscape of the industry in the European Economic Area. With targeted products, the bank is standing in the gap to offer support for both private and public entities with defined products and services in the EU.

EIB and its Advance Products

In one of its related investment commitments, the EIB and HSBC entered into a partnership to finance trade for mid-caps and SMEs in Greece with the sum of  €200 million. The financing was designed to assist export-oriented startups in Greece which are pivotal to stabilizing the economy as a whole.

“Our partnership with the EIB encourages the expansion of international trade by supporting small and medium-sized business to trade internationally,” adds Vinay Mendonca, chief growth officer for global trade and receivables finance at HSBC. “The expansion of the Trade Finance Facility by a further €200mn builds on the success of the previous agreements and will help even more Greek companies to grow and prosper.”

The global economy is experiencing a unique slump with the growing inflation that crippled many markets around the world in the past year. The European economy is notably being depressed more than the others as a result of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia which has precipitated an energy crisis in the region.

The efforts from investment firms like the EIB are helping to cushion the impacts of these global uncertainties across the board, a move that is projected to start yielding dividends in the mid to long term.

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