The European Investment Bank (EIB) has issued its first DLT-native commercial paper, marking a step toward Eurosystem eligibility for tokenised securities.
The euro-denominated paper — worth EUR 77.5 million with a 10-business-day tenor — was distributed into the international (Eurobond) market and issued via Clearstream’s D7 platform, the Deutsche Börse subsidiary enabling tokenised issuance at scale within a CSDR-compliant framework.
Citi acted as sole dealer and issuing and paying agent. Primary investors included BIL, DekaBank, DZ BANK, Eurex Clearing, Union Investment and Volksbank Mittlerer Schwarzwald.
DekaBank and Eurex Clearing subsequently mobilised the instrument via Clearstream’s tri-party collateral management solution and the Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS) to secure financing with the Bundesbank — demonstrating end-to-end interconnectivity across Europe’s digital bond markets.
The transaction follows the ECB’s recent decision to accept DLT-native securities issued via CSDs as Eurosystem collateral, reinforcing the case for tokenised issuance as a driver of market liquidity and collateral mobility.
Cyril Rousseau, EIB’s director general of finance, said: “With its first DLT-based digital commercial paper issuance, the EIB marks a further milestone in its broader work on the issuance of digital financial instruments, building on extensive experience in this field and supporting the Eurosystem.”
