HSBC has completed what it describes as its first issuance of a digitally native structured product, a private placement of USD-denominated notes in Hong Kong, the bank said in a July 10 release.
The notes were issued directly on a blockchain rather than digitized after issuance. Marketnode, an Asia-Pacific digital market infrastructure operator backed by Euroclear, HSBC, SGX Group and Temasek, acted as the tokenization agent and as the digital paying agent managing payment flows between issuer and investor.
HSBC did not disclose the size of the issuance, the reference asset, the tenor of the notes, the number or identity of investors, or the blockchain used.
The transaction was a private placement of structured notes, a class of products whose returns are linked to the performance of an underlying asset. HSBC framed the deal as a pilot intended to show how tokenization can affect issuance, settlement and ongoing servicing across a product's lifecycle.
"Building on HSBC's work in digital assets and innovation, this issuance demonstrates how we're working with market participants to develop practical, scalable solutions for institutional-grade digital finance," said Suvir Loomba, Regional Head of Securities Services, Asia, at HSBC and a Marketnode board member. "Tokenisation can help make markets more efficient and accessible by streamlining key steps across product lifecycles — from issuance and settlement, through to ongoing administration and servicing."
