KB Kookmin Bank Vice President Lee Sung-hee (L) poses with Rhee Sang-ho, CEO of HSBC Securities’ Seoul branch, in the trading room of KB Kookmin in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo by KB Kookmin Bank
SEOUL, June 10 (UPI) — South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank said Wednesday it issued the country’s first blockchain-powered digital bond by a domestic lender, raising $100 million.
The Seoul-based bank noted that HSBC has arranged the two-year, dollar-denominated bond, which uses blockchain technology from its issuance and registration to trading and settlement.
The transaction was executed through HSBC Orion, the bank’s proprietary digital asset platform, and integrated with the clearing and settlement infrastructure of Hong Kong.
Compared with conventional bond issuance processes, KB Kookmin said it expected the blockchain technology to shorten settlement times and improve operational efficiency.
The company said the process offers valuable experience in blockchain-enabled fundraising, while helping broaden its global investor base.
“This digital bond issuance is a real-world application of blockchain technology, which is drawing significant attention as the infrastructure of future finance,” KB Kookmin said in a statement.
“Moving forward, we remain committed to pioneering digital financial innovation to deliver even more secure and seamless financial services to our clients.”.
Its holding company, KB Financial Group, has also taken advantage of blockchain technologies. For example, the conglomerate said last month that it had completed a proof of concept for financial services based on a Korean won-denominated stablecoin.
KB Kookmin is not publicly listed. The share price of KB Financial Group edged down 0.52% on the Seoul bourse Wednesday, while the benchmark KOSPI dipped 4.52%.
