DBS becomes first bank in Asia to complete intraday repurchase transaction on a blockchain network

By Leandra Monteiro

DBS announced that it had become the first bank in Asia to complete an intraday repurchase transaction on J.P. Morgan’s intraday repurchase application on Onyx Digital Assets, a blockchain-based network that supports instant settlements and maturity of the transactions within hours instead of the current industry norm of one to two working days.

Andrew Ng, Head of Treasury and Markets at DBS, said, “Repurchase agreements or repos are a traditional and well-established method of raising financing, but infrastructural and technical inefficiencies meant the minimum term has usually been one day. In the past, banks around the world had to explore alternative routes for intraday financing requirements. Through leveraging efficiencies of a blockchain-based solution, we are able to raise USD funding in compressed timeframes which are beneficial to our liquidity needs.”

Scott Lucas, Head of Markets Distributed ledger Technology at J.P. Morgan said, “Our intraday repo solution helps clients boost operational efficiencies and accelerate settlement times for their repo activities. We are excited to have our first Asia-domiciled client live on the application, as the network continues to grow.”

Ed Bond, Head of Trading Services Asia Pacific at J.P. Morgan said, “This is the first time that J.P. Morgan is acting as both Triparty Agent and Collateral Token Agent, which is an exciting development for the market. DBS has been a great partner on this project and we will continue looking at ways to innovate and help our clients navigate market challenges.”

Ng added, “As a bank that is known to be at the forefront of digital transformation, we will continue to leverage leading technologies to provide market participants with accelerated access to liquidity coupled with better risk management.”