Turkish private banking giant transacts $100 million digital bond through Euroclear's Digital Market Infrastructure
In a groundbreaking move, Türkiye İş Bankası (İşbank) has become the first private bank to issue a digital native note (DNN) on Euroclear's D-FMI distributed ledger platform. The $100 million digital bond, issued in July 2025, marks a significant shift in the usage of Euroclear's platform, which until now had been primarily used by development finance institutions.
The issuance of the digital bond will finance small and medium enterprises, as well as farmers affected by the 2023 Turkish earthquake. This move demonstrates the bank's commitment to supporting recovery efforts and promoting sustainable finance.
Prior to İşbank, the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and French state entity Caisse des Dépôts (CDP) were the only issuers on Euroclear's platform. The World Bank issued the first DNN on the platform in 2023, followed by the AIIB with an initial $300 million issuance and a subsequent $200 million tap, and CDP with a DNN settled using a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) as part of Europe's distributed ledger settlement trials.
According to Isabelle Delorme, Head of Product Strategy and Innovation at Euroclear, the İşbank issuance demonstrates how digital innovation and sustainable finance can be combined. Delorme noted that the issuance maintains the same regulatory certainty, liquidity, and settlement efficiency as traditional bonds.
With this issuance, İşbank joins the ranks of four issuers on Euroclear's platform. The bond carries a floating rate coupon based on the six-month SOFR rate and is governed by UK law. R3's Corda is the DLT that underpins the D-FMI platform on which the DNN was issued.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, is the sole investor in the digital bond issued by İşbank. This transaction breaks the pattern of development bank participation on Euroclear's platform, paving the way for more private banks to explore the use of digital native notes for financing sustainable projects.
- The digital bond issued by Türkiye İş Bankası (İşbank) will be used to finance small and medium enterprises, as well as farmers, demonstrating the bank's dedication to supporting sustainable finance and recovery efforts.
- Prior to İşbank, the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and French state entity Caisse des Dépôts (CDP) were the only issuers on Euroclear's platform, with the World Bank being the first to issue a digital native note (DNN) in 2023.
- R3's Corda, a distributed ledger technology (DLT), serves as the foundation for Euroclear's D-FMI platform, which was utilized for the issuance of İşbank's digital bond, joining the ranks of four issuers on the platform.
