Bloomberg: EU investment bank examines blockchain digital bond issuance – Bits Media

European Investment Bank plans to leverage the power of blockchain to sell bonds, potentially helping to expand the use of technology in the EU debt market.

The state financial and credit institution of the European Union hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Banco Santander SA and Societe Generale Ag to study the possibility of releasing digital bond in euros, which will be registered and resolved using blockchain. Bloomberg refers to a familiar source with a question, who wishes to remain anonymous, since it is not authorized to disclose this information.

According to the source, Meetings with investors for the first sale will begin 15 April and will last several weeks. The new initiative follows the statement of the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagard (Christine Lagarde) About that, that the institution headed by it can release digital currency around the middle of this decade. The press secretary of the European Investment Bank refused to comment on the initiative.

A number of issuers around the world, including the World Bank and China Construction Bank, Over the past few years, they experimented with the release of bonds on the blockchain. However, the use of technology in debt markets is still far from the widespread implementation.

Blockchain has a more long history in lending and in the long -term market of Germany. Daimler AG car manufacturer was the first, who in 2017 year sold debt obligations for 100 Milln euros using blockchain. The German division Telefonica SA also used blockchain in early January to obtain a loan in the amount 200 million.