Societe Generale – Forge selects ConsenSys to boost CBDC pilot activities

By Megha Bhattacharya

Societe Generale Group’s digital capital markets platform Societe Generale – Forge selected ConsenSys to offer technology and services as part of its ongoing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot activities. The platform, as part of the partnership, will build upon its recent achievements including the issuance of a 100 million Euro covered bond on blockchain in 2019, and the issuance of a 40 million Euro bond that was settled with a CBDC in 2020, a joint project with the Banque de France, the French central bank.

Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of Societe Generale – Forge, noted, “We are pleased to partner with ConsenSys, a company who is a key player in the development of distributed ledger technology globally and offers many of the infrastructure and development tools used by the blockchain community.”

ConsenSys will provide technology and expertise to Societe Generale – Forge, focusing in particular on CBDC issuance and management, delivery versus payment, and cross-ledger interoperability. The company enables developers, enterprises, and individuals to build next-generation applications, launch modern financial infrastructure, and access the decentralized web.

Recently, Societe Generale entered into an agreement with AI-powered FinTech Galytix for digitalising its Corporate and Investment Banking group’s financial credit analysis processes. Galytix and PwC Luxembourg & France have partnered to develop this project for the Group, with Galytix providing its technology, and PwC its market insights and consulting support.

Ken Timsit, Global Head of Enterprise Solutions at ConsenSys, noted, “We have high regard for the accomplishments of Societe Generale – Forge and are proud to be working with them. ConsenSys is committed to advances in the CBDC space and has assisted six central banks around the world on CBDC projects.”