Distributed ledger technology (DLT) has significant potential to alter the lifecycle of bonds, from issuance, trading to settlement, and impact the functioning of financial markets. In light of continuous developments, ICMA’s FinTech Advisory Committee endorsed the creation of a dedicated working group to provide a forum for discussion and raise awareness on the benefits and challenges of DLT.
Objectives: (i) Provide a forum for discussion on how to support liquidity in blockchain bonds, focusing on interoperability aspects, cash on ledger, as well as legal and regulatory considerations with a view to providing recommendations or market guidance; (ii) Raise awareness and ‘demystify’ blockchain bonds through a blockchain bond FAQ, workshops, webinars and further educational materials, complementing the ICMA Future Leaders podcast series on DLT and capital markets, and (iii) Respond to relevant consultations by regulatory authorities.
Membership: The group is open to all ICMA members and brings together a broad constituency including banks, central banks, investors, issuers, market infrastructures, law firms and vendor firms. The group may also invite guests and observers to attend meetings.
Please contact us if you would like to join.
ICMA to lead Project Guardian Fixed Income workstream - 2 June 2025
ICMA is pleased to announce its role as the lead of the Project Guardian Fixed Income workstream. Project Guardian, convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is a global collaboration between policymakers and key industry players to enhance liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation.
The Guardian Fixed Income Framework (GFIF), first published in November 2024 under Project Guardian, sets the stage for a structured, secure and innovative environment to enable digital transformation within fixed income markets in Asia-Pacific and beyond. In 2025, ICMA’s leadership in this workstream will focus primarily on two critical areas: Delivery versus Payment (DvP) settlement and custody arrangements for DLT-based debt securities.
The workstream will draw on ICMA’s expertise and guidance such as the DLT Bonds Reference Guide and its longstanding collaboration with stakeholders across the spectrum of international debt capital markets to foster DLT-based bond markets as a reliable source of funding and avoid market fragmentation.
Gabriel Callsen, Senior Director, ICMA, said: “ICMA is honoured to collaborate with MAS and other members of Project Guardian to lead this pivotal workstream. We look forward to collaborating closely with MAS and industry participants to facilitate scaling of DLT-based bond markets. This role underscores ICMA’s commitment to enhancing interoperability and efficiency in global capital markets through digital innovation, furthering our mission to support sustainable economic growth.”
ICMA’s role in the workstream highlights its continued leadership and advocacy in fintech and digital transformation, aligning with its broader strategy to promote well-functioning and resilient cross-border capital markets.
ICMA DLT Bonds Reference Guide - 11 December 2024
This guide, produced by ICMA’s DLT Bonds Working Group, and authored by Gabriel Callsen, Senior Director for FinTech and Digitalisation at ICMA, highlights considerations for the end-to-end lifecycle of DLT-based debt securities. It is designed for market practitioners, including both traditional DCM and digital asset functions, as well as a broader audience of market stakeholders. It comprises over 50 practical questions and serves as a reference point across the lifecycle of a DLT-based debt security.
MAS Guardian Fixed Income Framework (GFIF): Summary of third-party proposals on integration of ICMA’s Bond Data Taxonomy in token frameworks and DLT platforms – 4 November 2024
ICMA has collaborated with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on GFIF, which provides an industry guide to implementing tokenisation in Debt Capital Markets. GFIF builds on ICMA’s Bond Data Taxonomy (BDT) to promote standardisation of protocols and data specifications, lower the cost of implementation and promote STP and interoperability, and consider the types of risk factors and disclosures required in a tokenised bond offering document. To learn more about the integration proposals of ICMA’s BDT into DLT bond workflows referenced in section 6 of the GFIF, including three use-case proposals, please see here.
See also MAS GFIF publication here.
List of participants: Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP, AllianzGI, Amundi, ANZ, Ashurst, AXA IM, Baker & McKenzie, Banco BPM, Bank FAB, Bank of America, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Banque de France (observers), Barclays, BBVA, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, BlackRock, Bloomberg, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Bundesbank (observers), CaixaBank, Citi, Clifford Chance, CMS Francis-Lefebvre, Commerzbank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Danske Bank, Davis Polk & Wardwell, DBS Bank, DekaBank, Deutsche Bank, DLA Piper, DTCC, DTIF, DZ Bank, Erste Group, European Stability Mechansim, Euroclear, Euronext, European Investment Bank, Fidelity International, EUWAX, Goldman Sachs, Hengeler Müller, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, HSBC, ICICI Bank, IFC, ING, Intesa San Paolo, Insight Investment, Inveztor, JPMorgan, KBC, KfW, Korea Exchange, KWM, LCH, Linklaters, Lloyds Banking, Luxembourg Stock Exchange, MarketAxess, Moody's, National Australia Bank, National Treasury Management Agency, Natixis Investment Managers, NatWest, Nomura, NowCM, Oppenheimer, Piraeus Bank, Rabobank, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Refinitiv, S&P Global, Santander, Schroder Investment Management, Singapore Exchange, Simmons & Simmons, SIX Digital Exchange, Slaughter & May, Société Générale, Société Générale (SG) Forge, Spuerkeess, State Street Global Advisors, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Swift, TD Securities, UBS, Union Investment, The World Bank.
See also:
11 April: ICMA response to HMT’s and the UK DMO’s Announcement of Preliminary Market Engagement Exercise for the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) Pilot
29 May 2024: ICMA response to joint Bank of England and FCA consultation on a Digital Securities Sandbox
21 November 2023: Considerations for risk factors and disclosure in DLT bond documentation
22 August 2023: ICMA response to HM Treasury's consultation on a UK Digital Securities Sandbox
30 September 2022: Joint TA response to BCBS 2nd consultation crypto-assets
August 2022: Viewpoint on wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency
28 June 2022: ICMA response to ECB questionnaire on a wholesale digital euro (from the ICMA Quarterly Report for Q3 2022)
FAQs on DLT & Blockchain in Bond Markets (Last updated September 2024)
Contacts:
Georgina Jarratt
Managing Director, Head of FinTech and Digitalisation; Member of the ICMA Executive Committee
Direct line: +44 20 7213 0348
Gabriel Callsen
Senior Director, FinTech and Digitalisation; Secretary to the ICMA FinTech Advisory Committee (FinAC)
Direct line: +44 20 7213 0334
