The tool exploits smart contracts and Distributed Ledger Technology in issuing and conducting the life cycle of investment certificates, an activity that usually requires numerous recursive compilations and is potentially subject to operational errors 01 Apr 2022 Veronica Balocco
Mediobanca automates the processes of issuing investment certificates and launches agoraPlatform, a platform that uses Distributed ledger technology (DLT) to optimize operational efficiency. The project, developed in collaboration with the English company Agora Digital capital markets, is consistent with the growing affirmation of investment certificates among innovative financial solutions, a market that currently sees Mediobanca present with over 300 issues a year. agoraPlatform is the first platform in the world to use smart contracts and DLT in issuing and managing the life cycle of certificates. The platform significantly reduces the production times for the offer documentation for issues of investment certificates: an activity that usually requires the compilation of a large volume of recursive information and therefore potentially subject to operational errors. Thanks to the new tool, it is possible to automate much of this information, limiting human intervention to a single initial input. The platform is, in fact, a huge competitive advantage for Mediobanca, especially at a time when distributors tend to favor issuers able not only to offer a competitive price but also an improvement in time-to-market in the contractual arrangement, a decisive element for allocating investment choices in the best possible way. In particular, the infrastructure facilitates seamless interaction between different functions and departments of the Capital Markets area (sales, structuring, negotiation and documentation) within a digital environment, as well as automatically drafting and finalizing all offer documents. including but not limited to term sheets, final terms and other ancillary documentation. An innovation possible thanks to the DLT and the smart contract, for real-time synchronization of all the actors involved (internal and external) in the entire issuing process. Over 20 active users After the initial launch of the platform in summer 2021 and full implementation during the year, Mediobanca now has over 20 users active in product management and has already completed the first issues through this innovative platform. “The digitization of issue workflows represents for Mediobanca a new step in its technological innovation path and places it among the“ first movers ”in the certificates market - says Marco Pozzi, Mediobanca Group COO -. Through this innovative platform, Mediobanca aims to increase the volumes of issues, thus satisfying the growing demand from its distributors. The adoption of DLT technology also lays the foundations for further automation in the management of the post-trading life cycle, internally and externally, in a future ecosystem that may include central securities depositories and issuing partners. " “We are pleased that Mediobanca has chosen agora as a partner for digitization in the investment certificate market - adds Charlie Berman, co-founder and CEO of agora -. With the adoption of the agoraPlatform platform, Mediobanca is at the absolute technological vanguard in the Capital markets. " COMMENT: when I hear about investment certificates, I am reminded of the 2008 financial crisis, the social consequences of which we are still paying. If it is a question of adopting the block-chain system, I report to the other articles on the site where it is shown that both the proof of work system (bitcoin) and the proof of stake system (ethereum) have enormous problems and only our alternative cryptographic system allows to have a digital currency that respects the CBDC fees and can be adopted by both Central Banks and Companies without competing.
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