Hana Bank raised $100 million through a five-year foreign-currency digital bond and settled the entire transaction on the same day, September 18, eliminating the typical three- to five-business-day settlement window. The deal was issued through Euroclear's Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI), a blockchain-based platform that achieved T+0 settlement—meaning zero additional days beyond the issue date.
The transaction marked two firsts for South Korea: it was the first time a Korean financial institution directly used Euroclear's D-FMI infrastructure for a digital bond, and it produced the first same-day settlement in the country's foreign-currency bond market.
How the Process Worked
Hana Bank issued the bond using its existing Global Medium-Term Note documentation, updated to accommodate the digitally native format. Standard Chartered served as sole lead manager and bookrunner, while Citibank acted as depositary and fiscal agent. Euroclear's distributed ledger handled issuance, registration, allocation, and cash settlement behind the scenes.
Investors held and traded the bond through their existing Euroclear accounts, requiring no new crypto wallets or alternative trading platforms. The blockchain infrastructure operated transparently to end users while enabling the accelerated settlement timeline.
Context Within Korea's Digital Securities Push
The deal arrives as South Korea's Financial Services Commission targets February 2027 for a full tokenized-securities regulatory framework. Hana's transaction demonstrates that Korean institutions can access global blockchain-based settlement infrastructure ahead of domestic rule completion.
Euroclear's D-FMI platform has grown since its October 2023 launch with the World Bank's €100 million digitally native note. By late 2025, issuance on the platform exceeded €1 billion, with transactions including Doha Bank's $150 million note. Earlier in 2026, other Korean issuers including Mirae Asset Securities and POSCO International issued digital bonds through different infrastructure in Hong Kong.
Some details of Hana's transaction remain undisclosed, including the coupon rate, spread, complete investor list, and full listing information.
