Deutsche Bank Securities Services in Singapore and Hashstacs complete PoC on DLT for sustainability related digital bonds

Deutsche Bank Securities Services in Singapore and Hashstacs (Stacs) have completed their “bond in a box” proof-of-concept on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for crypto-assets and sustainability-related digital bonds.

Called “Project Benja”, the POC is set in the context of tokenised securities in the securities market. The two teams worked on digital assets interoperability across platforms and related custody, digital securities and cash delivery-versus-payment practice, said a media release on May 19.

The two companies were able to remodel and optimise the workflows involved to create a “Bond in a Box” DLT platform. Consequently, new efficiencies were unlocked, together with the ability to issue smart contracts.

The integration has been tested with payment modes like UBIN and Diem (formerly Libra), digital custody and asset servicing, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) financing transparency needs.

Kamran Khan, Asia-Pacific head of ESG at Deutsche Bank, said: “Data transparency, reliability and security are corner stones of the emerging ESG capital market. This cutting-edge ‘bond in a box’ POC successfully explored the synergies between Fintech and ESG, using distributed ledger and smart contracts capabilities with cross-platform interoperability for ESG-compliant digital securities.”

STACS, in collaboration with Deutsche Bank Securities Services, was awarded the POC grant in October last year. The grant funds support for experimentation, development and dissemination of nascent innovative technologies in the financial services sector. The grant is part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme under the Financial Sector Development Fund administered by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Deutsche Bank’s domain expertise and the teams’ technical designs were combined with STACS’ live DLT platform to allow for end-to-end bond lifecycle management.

The POC’s results were tested with industry participants including UBS, Malaysia National Stock Exchange Bursa Malaysia, and Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) whose perspectives enriched the POC with more holistic assessments.

Benjamin Soh, Managing Director at STACS, said: “We are excited to have taken the first step towards turning a proof-of-concept to a proof-of-commercialisation, through our collaboration with Deutsche Bank, and with other leading financial industry participants. In addition, with the world’s focus turning towards ESG and sustainability, we look forward to expanding our network’s efforts in the sustainability push of the next few decades, via DLT technology as the common technology infrastructural nexus.”

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