Major Bank Overcomes Days-Long Wait for $100 Million Bond via Blockchain!
Hana Bank, South Korea’s second-largest bank, issued a $100 million digital bond on Euroclear’s blockchain infrastructure, completing bond allocation and payments on the same day.
According to a report by CoinDesk citing the Yonhap agency, Hana Bank has become the first South Korean financial institution to directly utilize the distributed ledger infrastructure of international securities depository Euroclear. The highlight of the transaction was not just its size, but the fact that bond and cash transfers, which can take days in traditional processes, were finalized on the day of issuance.
What did blockchain change in bond transactions?
The issuance was conducted via Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI). This infrastructure handles the issuance, registration, and settlement of securities on a distributed ledger. Instead of the three to five business days specified for traditional bond settlement, bond allocation and payments were completed the same day in this transaction. Thus, the waiting period for the exchange of the bond and its consideration was shortened; this result does not mean that the entire bond market has now shifted to same-day settlement.
The platform’s connection to Euroclear’s existing settlement network allows institutional investors to buy and sell the bond via their existing Euroclear accounts. Investors do not need to set up a separate system for this transaction.
Hana Bank used documentation from its existing global medium-term note program for the issuance. Standard Chartered served as the sole lead manager for the offering. Speaking to the Korea Herald, a Hana Bank official stated that same-day settlement is not just about diversifying financing channels, but a step toward utilizing blockchain technology in capital markets.
Occurred ahead of South Korea’s regulatory schedule
South Korea plans to implement its comprehensive regulatory framework for tokenized securities in February 2027. Hana Bank’s issuance demonstrates that a Korean bank can utilize existing international blockchain infrastructure before this local framework comes into effect.
Brussels-based Euroclear is one of the world’s largest central securities depositories. CoinDesk also reported that Hana Bank and Euroclear did not respond to requests for additional information at the time the news was published.