STACS, EFG Bank cue blockchain platform to go commercial

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Hashstacs (STACS), a Singapore-based fintech firm focused on blockchain solutions has partnered with EFG Bank to co-develop a blockchain platform that will enhance and simplify the processes of structured products.

Dubbed “Project Nathan — Smart Structured Products,” the collaboration is aimed 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.

Awarded the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Proof of Concept grant last March, the platform has undergone in its first phase. 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.

“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,” said Benjamin Soh, managing director of STACS.

Workflow processes that are heavily manual today, such as the reconciliation of structured product trades and fixings, are now enhanced and simplified on the Nathan platform. EFG has reported a significant reduction in man-hours and operational risks, and an increase in efficiency of more than 50%.

Overall, the Nathan Platform has allowed the bank the ability to increase servicing capacity by close to 300%. Starting with FX Accumulators, the solution will be scaled up to include other types of structured products in future.

“The project is innovative, demonstrates significant efficiency gains and can be extended to other asset classes in the future,” said Ivan Ferraroni, managing director of EFG Bank Hong Kong.