The European Investment Bank has participated in numerous DLT firsts, especially for new platforms. Now it has launched a 10 day tokenized commercial paper issuance of €77.5 million on Clearstream’s D7 platform, which was marketed to international investors. Plus, the issuance is being used as central bank collateral.
In January the European Central Bank (ECB) announced plans to accept tokenized collateral in the Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS), which went live at the end of March. Initially only DLT securities issued via a central securities depository (CSD) are eligible, meaning this issuance qualifies. DekaBank and Eurex Clearing were involved in mobilizing the collateral with the Bundesbank via Clearstream’s triparty collateral management solution. “The Eurosystem eligibility of tokenized securities is a very welcome addition to the digital financial market ecosystem and important for investors,” said Cyril Rousseau, Director General of Finance at EIB.
Apart from DekaBank, other primary investors in the eurobond commercial paper included Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL), DZ BANK, Eurex Clearing, Union Investment and Volksbank Mittlerer Schwarzwald. Citi was the sole dealer and issuing and paying agent.
The choice of commercial paper as the instrument is not surprising. When Clearstream participated in the 2024 ECB wholesale DLT settlement pilots it conducted eight trials using real money, six of them involving commercial paper (CP) with the other two using the CP for repo. The Deutsche Börse group has engaged in DLT more broadly than arguably any other major financial market infrastructure, spanning collateral mobility, crypto custody, fund tokenization and licensed trading platforms. All of these are likely to be consolidated into the “Next-Generation Digital Securities” Infrastructure announced by Clearstream earlier this month. But for all its breadth of activities, there is a notable gap: long dated digital bond issuance, which makes the commercial paper choice notable.
Article continues …
Want the full story? Pro subscribers get complete articles, exclusive industry analysis, and early access to legislative updates that keep you ahead of the competition. Join the professionals who are choosing deeper insights over surface level news.
