The UK government has taken a step towards its first digitally native government bond, DIGIT, by appointing six firms as Joint Lead Managers for the pilot issuance. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest, and RBC Capital Markets were selected following a competitive procurement process.
The appointments, announced by the City minister at Digital Assets Week, complete the procurement process and will allow investor engagement to begin. These firms will provide traditional Lead Manager services, including underwriting, investor engagement support, and distribution of DIGIT on issuance day.
The DIGIT pilot is expected to occur by Q1 2027 and will explore the application of distributed ledger technology (DLT) across the bond's issuance and lifecycle. Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Rigby KC MP, stated that digitalisation is central to ensuring the UK is a global hub for digital assets.
This initiative is part of the government's broader strategy to digitalise wholesale financial markets and maintain the UK's competitiveness as DLT changes finance. HSBC was previously appointed as the DLT supplier in February, with HSBC and LSEG signing a memorandum of understanding in July for a bilateral Digital Securities Depository link.