Multi-bank joint venture bolsters blockchain platform SWIAT

DekaBank established SWIAT in February 2022. The investment from the new partners will be used to build capacity and speed up product development

Three banks and a technology company have come together to bolster SWIAT, a blockchain platform that enables real-time settlement and trading of traditional and digital data, assets and transactions. 

The joint venture is made up of SC Ventures, the fintech arm of Standard Chartered, German bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), DekaBank and financial software provider Comyno.  

Comyno’s software will create a decentralised financial infrastructure and “frictionless”, real-time settlement for securities lending, repurchase agreements and bond issuance.  

It will allow banks to conduct business “more efficiently, at a lower cost with better risk management, higher speed and greater flexibility”. 

It will also improve economies of scale and create new business opportunities such as providing custody services. 

DekaBank established SWIAT in February 2022. The investment from the new partners will be used to build capacity and speed up product development. 

Martin K Müller, a member of DekaBank’s board of management, commented: “Only with other financial institutions coming on board would it be possible to develop and establish such a standard on the blockchain for the financial sector, so in essence, SWIAT really relies on multi-party cooperation.” 

Alex Manson, head of SC Ventures, added: “SC Ventures is convinced that the current use case is the precursor for many others, with the bulk of the settlement industry moving gradually to blockchain protocols.” 

Speaking on the blockchain technology, Comyno’s chief executive officer and founder, Markus Büttner, explains: “Compared to classical centralised infrastructure, the two big advantages of decentralised blockchain applications are the increased efficiency and higher security we can enjoy. 

“We have already seen this in the first use cases such as securities lending, where we have done away with having to move securities around physically. The higher the number of participants on the blockchain, the more these advantages are felt.” 

Image: © D3Damon via Canva

Josh Poyser Josh Poyser is an editor at FinTech Intel. He has written about fintech for several years and appeared at FinTech Connect 2023 on the 'Unlocking Success: The Art of Fintech PR' panel.