Clifford Chance acted for EIB on private block chain
Clifford Chance acted for EIB on private block chain
The landmark transaction is the EIB's second euro-denominated digitally native bond issuance and its first under Luxembourg law.
Clifford Chance has advised the European Investment Bank (EIB) based on its first euro-denominated digital bond issuance of a private block chain.
The EUR 100 million, two-year bond was issued, documented and settled through private block chain-based technology via GS DAPTM – Goldman Sachs' tokenisation platform.
The transaction, issued by a public institution is the first syndicated bond which will go for Luxembourg Stock Exchange's Securities Official List.
Steve Jacoby, a partner at Clifford Chance in Luxembourg said, "This transaction in the capital markets shows the opportunity for technological innovation. Based on the legal aspects of this significant transaction, we are very proud to have advised the EIB. Working on an innovative, compound and multi-jurisdictional deal, is the best achievement of Clifford Chance. More so with a cross-border multi-disciplinary team which is made up of capital markets, regulatory and tech experts in Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Paris."
"The firm showed its strength while working across jurisdictions and merging our market-leading regulatory and capital markets proficiency. In digital transformation of European capital market segment, this transaction displayed our pan-European capabilities," commented Marc Benzler, a partner at Clifford Chance in Frankfurt.
According to Counsel Alexander Tollast in Paris, "The list of innovative features on this EIB transaction is impressive, not least the use of central bank digital currency tokens in a cross-chain T+0 settlement process. It was one of the most intellectually stimulating and rewarding capital markets projects that we have had the chance to work on."
Steve Jacoby (Luxembourg), Marc Benzler (Germany), Christian Hissnauer (Germany), Jonathan Lewis (Paris), Cédric Burford (Paris), Alexander Tollast (Paris), Federica Gamen (Luxembourg) and Thomas Guala Molino (Paris) comprise the cross-border Clifford Chance team advising the EIB.
The joint lead managers (Goldman Sachs, Santander and Société Générale) were advised by Allen & Overy, and Ashurst advised Goldman Sachs in relation to its tokenisation platform.
