Project awarded the Financial Sector Technology & Innovation (FSTI) Proof of Concept Grant by MAS
CORRECTION by Hashstacs
– The 6th paragraph in the previous version has been deleted
– The sub headline and the designation of the EFG Bank have been
changed
The corrected release reads:
SINGAPORE / HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 19 October
2020 – Hashstacs Pte Ltd (also known as
“STACS”), a Singapore FinTech company focusing on Blockchain technology solutions
for financial institutions, announced its partnership with EFG Bank (“EFG“)
to co-develop a Blockchain platform that will enhance and simplify the
processes of structured products.
“Project Nathan — Smart
Structured Products”, a collaboration between STACS and EFG, aims at using new
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to automate and manage the entire lifecycle
of a structured product. The Nathan platform comprises the underlying STACS
Blockchain and smart contracts, and a business application with an intuitive
user interface.
The Nathan platform was
awarded the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS“)’s Financial Sector Technology and
Innovation (FSTI) Proof of Concept (POC) grant on 2 March 2020. The FSTI POC
grant provides funding support for experimentation, development and
dissemination of nascent innovative technologies in the financial services
sector.
Project Nathan achieved
many milestones through close collaboration work between STACS and EFG. It is
currently in its first phase, where STACS worked with EFG to remodel the
workflows involved in a structured product transaction, facilitated the
internal efficiencies between various EFG departments involved in structured
product transactions, as well as looked at the usage of smart contracts to
automate aspects of trade inception and trade servicing.
Mr Benjamin Soh, Managing Director of STACS, said: “Tapping on the
success of Phase 1 of Project Nathan, we are now able to proceed with further
phases of commercialisation for the Nathan Platform, and look towards further
rollout of our digitalisation initiatives towards the wider industry.”
Mr Ivan Ferraroni, Head of Global Markets Asia of EFG said,
“Participating in this MAS funded initiative was an exciting experience for
EFG and our team members. This is in
line with our efforts to change the speed and scope of digitalisation in our
business. Working with STACS has been very smooth and seamless, and we
certainly managed to learn from each other. The project is innovative,
demonstrates significant efficiency gains and can be extended to other asset
classes in the future.”
Codeveloping Blockchain Use cases with market participants
With recent trends of blockchain adoption in the capital markets, STACS
serves as a complete solutions partner. By co-developing a Blockchain project
with EFG, STACS has provided a model for market participants, providing them a
solution for industry pain-points highlighted by the participants. STACS also
provides a full suite of platforms covering different services in various live projects
with multiple stock exchanges and commercial banks in both the EU and Asia.
“Project Nathan demonstrates the commitment of STACS as an
innovative fintech development company to help financial institutions like EFG
Bank to embrace digitalisation and seek new opportunities. This is an exciting time in the FinTech world
as we see a growing number of institutions looking at Blockchain, and EFG has
taken the lead to adopt this innovative approach to structured products.
Adoption of new technologies by financial institutions will enable them to reap
the benefits of reducing costs and improve efficiencies,” added Mr Benjamin Soh.
About STACS
Hashstacs Pte Ltd
or “STACS” is a Singapore fintech development company providing ready platforms
that make global markets simpler for financial institutions. STACS is leading
the way forward by digitalizing assets, processes and documents using next
generation blockchain-based technology. Its clients and partners include
investment banks, stock exchanges, custodian banks, asset managers and private
banks. STACS is a recipient of the MAS FSTI POC grant, and a technology
participant of the MAS Project Ubin.
About EFG
EFG International is a global private banking group offering
private banking and asset management services and is headquartered in Zurich.
EFG International’s group of private banking businesses operates in around 40
locations worldwide. Its registered shares (EFGN) are listed on the SIX Swiss
Exchange.