MILAN, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Italian bank UniCredit said on Friday it had issued its first tokenised structured note for private investors, a week after issuing its first tokenised minibond together with state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
Tokenisation turns a traditional financial instrument — such as a bond or note — into a digital version which has full legal value. The token is recorded on a shared blockchain, a digital ledger that replaces conventional registries.
Tokenisation cuts issuance costs, including by reducing manual processing and removing the need to lodge securities with a custodian.
The note targets professional wealth management clients, UniCredit said.
UniCredit said BlockInvest had provided the technology to issue the digital note, while Weltix — authorised by Italian markets regulator Consob to run a digital registry — recorded the note on a public blockchain.
UniCredit said the deal let it run a full digital issuance from start to finish and adapt its systems to standards it expects will become common in the industry.
The bank said this put it among Italy’s early movers in blockchain-based securities.
(Reporting by Valentina Za. Editing by Jane Merriman)
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