Economy · Budget & tax · 6 November 2026
Six banks assigned roles for UK's first digital government bond pilot
HM Treasury has announced that six banks have been allocated specific Lead Manager roles for the pilot issuance of the Digital Gilt Instrument. The Bank of England has also approved a link between HSBC and LSEG platforms. The pilot is expected to take place by Q1 2027.
HM Treasury has announced that six banks have been assigned specific roles to manage the pilot issuance of the Digital Gilt Instrument, or DIGIT. As part of this move, the Bank of England confirmed regulatory approval for a link between HSBC and LSEG’s Digital Securities Depositories. The initiative is part of the government’s strategy to test distributed ledger technology in UK sovereign debt issuance.
The pilot issuance is expected to take place by Q1 2027. HSBC will act as Documentation Manager, Settlement Manager, Billing and Delivery Manager, and handle Bookbuilding. RBC Capital Markets and Barclays will coordinate the roadshow and market communications, while Lloyds will handle press and external communications. NatWest and Morgan Stanley will act as Platform Coordinators, a new role created for DIGIT to support investors in using digital platforms.
Lucy Rigby KC MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: "Digitalisation is central to ensuring the UK remains a global hub for digital assets, and DIGIT is an important part of putting that ambition into practice." She added that the announcements take the UK another step closer to issuing the bond early next year.
The scheme is limited to a pilot issuance. It applies to the specific banks assigned Lead Manager roles and the approved platform link. The expected timeline for the pilot is Q1 2027.
Written by StreetOwl from HM Treasury’s own announcement. It was drafted by StreetOwl’s own model, every figure and quotation was checked by code against the announcement, and it was read and approved by Michael Rossi before it went up. It says what was announced, not what anyone should do about it.
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