Today SWIFT
announced a new blockchain proof of concept (PoC) for e-Voting in the Asia Pacific. The PoC is in conjunction with the securities software provider SLIB and the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank are participants, and DBS bank and SGX are involved as participants and issuers.
The aim is to simplify the management of shareholder meetings and proxy voting. A large proportion of stocks are not physically held by the stock owner. Invariably a broker holds them on their behalf and stores them at a Central Securities Depository. So when it comes to voting during a listed company meeting, a shareholder’s wishes need to be communicated through multiple parties.
“The expression of shareholders’ rights is often limited today by non-transparent, complex and inefficient paper-based processes,” said Lisa O’Connor, SWIFT’s MD of securities, treasury & standards, Asia Pacific. “The emergence of blockchain technology is a new opportunity to look at improving these processes. It is also an opportunity for SWIFT to offer flexibility in the adoption of this new technology through the re-use of ISO 20022 based solutions together with a high level of security and resilience that our industry requires.”
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