(Reuters) -Citigroup has become the first digital custodian participant of the BondbloX Bond Exchange (BBX), the securities solutions management unit of the global investment bank said on Friday.
BBX, which was launched in 2020 to simplify bond investing, is the world's first fractional bond exchange.
The deal will enable Citi's clients who meet a certain criteria, to become participants on the exchange and trade bonds, with the investment bank providing settlement and custodial services.
"The proprietary digital custody technology is scalable and will allow us to provide settlement and custody services for clients investing in assets issued on permissioned blockchain networks and digital financial management information systems (FMIs)," said Nadine Teychenne, head of digital assets for Citi Securities Services.
The recent partnership is an extension to Citi being initially chosen by BBX in 2021 to act as a custodian for the underlying bonds issued and traded on its exchange as fractionalized assets.
"Digital Custody is the next big step in the transformation of the bond market, making bond markets, more transparent, electronic and accessible to all," said Rahul Banerjee, CEO and co-founder of BondbloX.
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
