2023-06-27 19:38:54
Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) has acquired shares in Fintech Cashlink for the first time. Together with three previous owners, Helaba is investing 7 million euros in the company, which uses blockchain technology to enable securities such as bonds, certificates or participation rights to be issued completely digitally. This was announced by Helaba and Cashlink on Tuesday.
At present, securities are generally held centrally in a register of Deutsche Börse AG. In the case of digital securities, it will be possible for issuers to manage the register themselves or commission third parties to do so. In addition to the savings bank central bank Helaba, the savings bank fund company Deka, with its partners LBBW and Standard Chartered, also senses a new business area here. In the first quarter of 2023, Deka applied to the financial regulator Bafin for a crypto asset custody license, and Deutsche Bank also provided information about its application last week. The process for issuing such a license lasted an average of 480 days in Germany,
Cashlink, on the other hand, already has preliminary permission from Bafin to keep crypto securities in the register and already offers solutions for third parties here – among other things, they are used indirectly by Bank Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe and possibly by Helaba in the future. Cashlink focuses more on business with private customers and develops software itself. Banks, on the other hand, have so far mostly concentrated on business with large investors such as insurers, asset managers, pension funds and foundations in the digital securities business. In this institutional business, banks usually use the software from providers in a focused manner.
Christian Siedenbiedel Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 9 Hanno Mußler Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 11 Hanno Mußler Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7
Helaba boss Thomas Groß can be quoted as follows on the investment in Cashlink: “The strategic investment fits perfectly into our digital agenda. We are specifically looking for cooperation with platforms that digitize end-to-end processes and thus create added value for us and our customers. Together with Cashlink, we are opening up access to the tokenization ecosystem and can develop sustainable business models.” Helaba is making the investment through its investment company Helaba Digital, which has already acquired shares in the companies VC Trade and ESG Book.
#Helaba #joins #Fintech #Cashlink