Standard Chartered has issued USD 200 million in three-year floating-rate digitally native notes (DNNs), becoming the first Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) and the first UK issuer to issue on Euroclear's Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI). An application has been made for the notes to be admitted to trading on the International Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Structure of the issuance
The notes were issued using distributed ledger technology through Euroclear's D-FMI, which supports the issuance of digital international securities within a regulated market infrastructure while maintaining connectivity to existing issuance, settlement, and servicing processes. Standard Chartered acted as sole dealer for the offering.
According to Standard Chartered, the transaction reflects how distributed ledger technology can be integrated within existing capital markets infrastructure to support more efficient and interoperable issuance processes. The bank said the deal builds on its previous experience supporting clients on digital bond transactions, extending that capability to its own funding programme.
Company commentary
A company official at Standard Chartered said the transaction reflects the bank's continued focus on modernising its funding capabilities through the adoption of new technologies, describing the issuance as demonstrating how digital issuance can be integrated into an established funding programme while maintaining connectivity with existing international market infrastructure and investor processes.
A separate company official at Standard Chartered said the significance of the transaction extends beyond the individual issuance, describing it as a step toward broader institutional adoption of digital capital markets infrastructure. The official said the bank continues to observe growing interest from issuers, investors, and market participants in how distributed ledger technology can support the digitisation of financial assets and improve efficiency across capital markets.
According to Euroclear, the future of digital capital markets depends on combining innovation with the trust, scale, and connectivity of existing markets, describing the transaction as demonstrating how digitally native issuance can be integrated into Euroclear's infrastructure while preserving access to established liquidity channels, trading venues, and regulatory frameworks.
Standard Chartered's broader role in digital debt markets
Standard Chartered has been involved in several previous digital debt capital markets transactions, including acting as Joint Digital Structurer and Joint Lead Manager for Emirates NBD's AED 1 billion digitally native bond issued on Euroclear's D-FMI, and as Sole Lead Manager for Doha Bank's USD 150 million digital bond issuance, which featured instant settlement.
Broader implications
The issuance reflects continued development in the use of distributed ledger technology within regulated capital markets infrastructure, as major financial institutions explore digitally native debt issuance as a complement to traditional bond issuance processes. As larger institutions, including systemically important banks, begin to participate directly in digital bond issuance, this may support further development of interoperable digital market infrastructure across international capital markets.
