Deutsche Bank Securities Services in Singapore and Singapore fintech Hashstacs (STACS) have completed their proof-of-concept (POC) referred to as Project Benja.
Set in the context of tokenised securities in the securities market, the teams worked on digital assets interoperability across platforms and related custody, digital securities and cash delivery-versus-payment practice, distributed ledger technology (DLT) to traditional systems connectivity, operating model evolution and smart contract templates.
This also included those involving sustainability-linked digital bonds.
Deutsche Bank’s domain expertise and the respective teams’ technical designs were combined with STACS’ live DLT platform which allows for end-to-end bonds lifecycle management.
The POC results were then tested with industry participants — UBS, Malaysia National Stock Exchange Bursa Malaysia, and Union Bank of the Philippines — whose perspectives enriched the POC with more holistic assessments.
Through their involvement, Deutsche Bank and STACS were able to remodel and optimise the workflows involved to create a ‘bond in a box’ DLT platform.
Deutsche Bank explains that this unlocks new efficiencies with rapid smart contracts issuances, and tested the integration with payment modes like UBIN and Diem, digital custody and asset servicing, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) financing transparency needs.
The POC follows on from the news in February when Deutsche Bank revealed it was exploring options to start offering digital currency custody services as well as other crypto-specific services for institutional investors.
Prior to that, in January, Deutsche Bank and STACS noted they would explore a POC related to the technological and practical feasibility of digital assets interoperability.
STACS, in collaboration with Deutsche Bank Securities Services, was awarded the POC grant on 29 October 2020, which provided funding support for experimentation, development and dissemination of nascent innovative technologies in the financial services sector.
The POC grant is part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation scheme under the Financial Sector Development Fund administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Anand Rengarajan, Asia Pacific (APAC) head of securities services at Deutsche Bank, comments: “This POC allowed us to assess the practical handling of tokenised assets, as well as the opportunities and challenges that could arise from their commercialisation in Singapore, and potentially in other markets.”
Meanwhile, Benjamin Soh, managing director at STACS, adds: “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.”
In February STACS also teamed up with BNP Paribas and Eastspring Investments to implement a blockchain-driven solution.
To discover more about the world of digital assets, go to Asset Servicing Times’ Digital Handbook 2021.
