The century-old French bank Societe Generale took another step in its foray into the bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency ecosystem, after it issued its first “green” digital bond as a token registered on the Ethereum blockchain.
According to the bank institution, these are security tokens that are issued by SG-FORGE, the bank's digital asset management arm. These bonds were subscribed by two “top-level” institutional investors. These are AXA Investment Managers and Generali Investments.
The tokenized investment belongs to the banks Sustainable and Positive Impact Bond program, which was launched in 2015. Through this scheme, securities are issued that are intended to finance projects with a positive environmental impact. Societe Generale, which is the sixth largest bank in Europe, indicated that the token represents a senior unsecured bond of 10 million euros and maturing in 3 years.
Part of the net income from that bond will be used to finance the institution's activities, related to the Sustainable and Positive Impact Bond program. According to the bank, the issuance of the digital bond seeks to “take advantage of the differentiating functionalities” of the technology that encompasses Bitcoin, such as blockchains.
As the financial institution sees it, the tokenized format of the bonds allows for greater transparency and traceability, “as well as greater fluidity and speed in transactions and settlements. This is a first step towards the use of blockchains as a data repository and certification tools for issuers and investors to promote transparency and impact data on a global scale.”
The French bank highlighted that carbon footprint information linked to the tokenized bond infrastructure is available 24/7 in open access directly in the bond smart contract which allows issuers and investors to measure the carbon emissions of their securities in the financial infrastructure,” the bank says.
Likewise, the bank indicated that a new option was opened so that investors can liquidate their holdings directly on chain , through the EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) stablecoin, the digital asset issued by SG-FORGE in April 2023.
