A new French-based central securities depository (CSD) using distributed ledger technology (DLT) has gone live with the help of a handful of custodians and issuing paying agents.
ID2S has successfully commenced live operations with NowCP, a new digital platform for issuing and trading commercial paper, backed by CACEIS, Credit Agricole Corporate and investment Bank, Orange Bank and Natixis as participants.
The aim for the new CSD is to provide a harmonised platform for the issuance, trading, settlement and custody for commercial paper.
ID2S is also the first European CSD to offer real-time settlement of financing and investment transactions for money markets instruments in central bank money through TARGET2 Securities (T2S), the pan-European settlement platform.
“Together with NowCP as the innovative issuance and trading platform, ID2S has started the journey to deliver on our common vision to change the future of the European money markets,” said Andrea Tranquillini, CEO of ID2S.
With the commercial start-up of both NowCP and ID2S, the two platforms will be gradually opening their services to issuers and their IPAs, as well as to investors and their custodians.
In June, ID2S announced it had redistributed its ownership to Orange Group and Citi, after blockchain specialist SETL announced it was unable to supply sufficient capital needed to sustain its investment in the CSD.