The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) recently teamed up with the World Bank in an effort to integrate blockchain recording of secondary market bonds. The banks will be using bond-I, a blockchain-based debt app. Coindesk reported that the two banks have already completed their first recording of a secondary transaction using the blockchain platform.
The banking institutions have created waves by recording the first of what they hope would be many transactions. The record was created on a "distributed" ledger, marking the first time a bond connected to the two banking institutions have been traded and issued on a blockchain platform.
Bond-i was initially connected with the World Bank, created only last August. CommBank came onboard as an "arranger." This experiment allowed the World Bank, who at that time was raising $81 million for its investments. World Bank vice president and treasurer Jingdong Hua praised the transaction and said that it was a "tremendous step" towards helping capital markets to create leveraged ledgers and distribute these through technology faster.
This wasn't the first foray into digital transactions for CommBank, it seems. The banking firm has launched a completely new campaign, which demonstrated their considerable efforts in protecting clients against fraud. Mumbrella presented their state-of-the-art ad shot in what looks like a sci-fi city, perhaps representing the changing state of business transactions.
The ad was meant to present the banking firm's dedication to providing 24/7 security monitoring using only the latest in technology. M&C Saatchi handled the account, the same advertising company with which CommBank has entrusted all their other ads. CommBank CMO Monique Macleod also spoke in a statement in support of the ad.
The CMO continued, saying the crimes committed to financial clients had also evolved just as technology did. CommBank, according to her, remains committed to protecting its client as it evolved its security, reassuring Australians that "they've got them covered" when it comes to account security and protecting their accounts from digital thievery.
CommBank's partnership with the World Bank was revealed when they announced their plan to issue a bond. This was to be done over a blockchain system. That time, they declined to name World Bank, instead choosing to say that they were working towards working with a then-unnamed "major world issuer." The rest is what had happened so far.
