(26 April 2018 – Europe) BBVA has become the first global bank to issue a corporate loan using distributed ledger technology.
According to BBVA the entire process, from negotiating terms to signing the €75m loan, was carried out on a mutually distributed ledger, keeping both the bank and the corporate borrower up to date on the progress of the loan.
Using technology cut the negotiation time for the loan from “days to hours”, highlighting the main advantage of blockchain over existing processes. The ability to speed up and simplify complex transactions by making changes and updates immediately visible to all parties makes distributed ledger technologies highly attractive for use in corporate and syndicated loans.
The Spanish lender is also working on blockchain initiatives for international payments, international trade and foreign exchange.