Sberbank CIB, investment banking commerce of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, conducted the first commercial bond transaction in Russia that is based on blockchain system. The transaction was accomplished in partnership with MTS, a premier telecoms operator in Russia and NSD or the National Settlement Depository.

Sberbank CIB structured the problem of MTS business bond for the price of RUB 750 billion with six months maturity, employing smart contracts. The deal was happened on the Hyperledge Fabric 1.1 based-blockchain platform which is provided by the National Settlement Depository.

Commercial bonds are unsecured fixed income securities given by a business and put on an OTC market by means of an exclusive subscription. To carry out a transaction, comprehensive Delivery versus Payment settlement model was applied utilizing blockchain system that made constant transfer of money and bonds.

The three parties obtained access to this platform to conduct the transaction, which assured confidentiality and transparency in dealing with the accounts and met the prerequisites imposed by Russian law.

According to Igor Bulantsev, Sberbank SVP and Sberbank CIB head, the MTS bond issue not just allowed them to verify the reliability, efficiency as well as safe nature of the blockchain platform and conduct complicated transactions involving securities but also showed the potential that this system has to develop the digital economy of Russia.

Eddie Astanin, NSD Chairman of the Executive Board stated that his company was the first company in Russia to adopt this system. They started working on a prototype policy for conducting bond transaction in Q1 2017. The agreement with MTS and Sberbank was the first of its kind and it shows that blockchain is a mass-use system which offers speed and confidentiality when dealing with securities.

Eddie also stated that the objective of the organization is growth of an infrastructure for listing digital assets in collaboration with the leaders of the market.

In December, Russia finished its first blockchain execution. Sberbank declared that it’s collaboration with FAS or Federal Antimonopoly Service to apply document transfer and storage utilizing blockchain systems.

Yesterday, State Duma’s Committee for Legislative Work of Russia supported a law “ On Digital Financial Assets that was first made in March 2018. Pavel Krasheninnikov, Legislative Work Committee head, the law aims to reduce the current threats of utilizing digital objects for transferring bonds and money into a free digital setting for legalization of illegal profits, bankruptcy fraud and for supporting terrorists group.