Hana Bank Issues $100 Million Digital Bond, Debuts First T+0 Settlement in Korea's Foreign-Currency Bond Market

Hana Bank said on Sept. 21 that it had issued a $100 million foreign-currency digital bond through Euroclear's blockchain platform, marking the first same-day, or T+0, settlement in South Korea's foreign-currency bond market.

The bank issued the five-year bond on Sept. 18 through D-FMI, a distributed-ledger-technology platform operated by global international central securities depository Euroclear.

It was the first time a South Korean financial institution had issued a digital bond directly using Euroclear's proprietary blockchain infrastructure. A digital bond processes issuance, registration and settlement across a distributed-ledger network.

The offering also marked the first use of T+0 settlement in South Korea's foreign-currency bond market. Conventional foreign-currency bonds typically require three to five business days from issuance to the completion of cash settlement. By using distributed-ledger technology, Hana Bank completed bond allocation and payment settlement on the day of issuance.

The transaction maintained compatibility with existing capital-markets infrastructure while applying blockchain technology. Hana Bank used the same Global Medium Term Note, or GMTN, program documentation that it typically uses for foreign-currency bond issuance.

Because the bond is linked to Euroclear's existing global settlement network, institutional investors can trade it through their existing Euroclear accounts and trading systems without building separate infrastructure or taking additional procedural steps.

Standard Chartered acted as sole bookrunner, overseeing the entire process from structuring to issuance and distribution.

A Hana Bank official described the $100 million digital bond sale and implementation of same-day T+0 settlement as a meaningful step that goes beyond diversifying funding channels. The bank will continue to pursue innovative fundraising methods that meet global investor demand by swiftly adopting advanced infrastructure, the official added.