BBVA has arranged and signed the terms of a $150 million syndicated loan using distributed ledger technology (DLT)
The transaction was arranged over a private blockchain network through which six entities participated in the process: Red Eléctrica Corporación; the three funding banks: BBVA, as sole bookrunner, BNP Paribas and MUFG; and two legal advisors: Linklaters and Herbert Smith Freehill.
Each step of the negotiation leading to the signing of the final agreement was recorded in the Hyperledger-based DLT network along with a user code and the timestamp. Once the contract was signed a unique document identifier was recorded in Ethereum’s public blockchain network to guarantee its immutability against third parties.
The transaction is the latest in a number of notable DLT-based deals conducted by the Spanish bank with corporate customers, including the renewal of a EUR325 million credit line with Repsol and the signing of a €100-million-euro long-term bilateral corporate loan with ACS.
Ricardo Laiseca, head of global finance at BBVA says: “BBVA is simplifying the processes related to corporate financing and is betting on the use of new technologies, like blockchain, to digitise loan negotiations and contracting. We work with our corporate clients to be able to provide them with the most innovative financing solutions.”