Deutsche Bank’s Securities Services business in Singapore and Hashstacs (STACS) have reportedly finalized their proof-of-concept (PoC), called Project Benja, on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for crypto-assets and sustainability-related digital bonds.
Set in the context of the nascent tokenized securities in the securities market, the teams from the two organizations worked cooperatively on achieving digital assets interoperability across various platforms (along with support for custody solutions)
STACS and the Deutsche Bank Securities Services were awarded the PoC grant on October 29, 2020. They’ve acquired the funding support for conducting relevant experiments, development and implementation of new technologies in order to support the digital financial services sector.
The PoC grant is part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme under the Financial Sector Development Fund – which is administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Deutsche Bank’s expertise and the respective teams’ technical designs have been integrated with STACS’ DLT platform which enables end-to-end bonds lifecycle management.
The POC’s results have been tested within the industry with the help of UBS, Malaysia’s national stock exchange Bursa Malaysia, and the Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank). According to the announcement, these institutions may have helped improve the PoC by offering insightful assessments.
Through their partnership, Deutsche Bank and STACS have been able to successfully remodel and streamline the workflows in order to develop a “Bond in a Box” DLT platform. This helps unlock additional efficiencies along with the ability to issue smart contracts.
The integration has reportedly been tested with payment modes such as UBIN and Diem (formerly Libra), digital custody and asset servicing, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) financing transparency requirements.
Kamran Khan, APAC Head of ESG at Deutsche Bank, stated:
“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.”
Benjamin Soh, MD at STACS, remarked:
“We are excited to have taken the first step towards turning a proof-of-concept to a proof-of-commercialization, 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.”