Three French Banks Join R3 Corda Blockchain-Based Loans Platform

British financial software firm Finastra has signed three global banks on its R3 Corda blockchain-based syndicated loans platform, the firm officially announced on May 14.

France-based banking institutions BNP Paribas, Natixis, and Societe Generale have officially joined Finastra’s syndicated lending platform Fusion LenderComm, following previous pilots back in 2017.

Based on blockchain consortium R3’s open source blockchain platform Corda Enterprise, Finastra’s Fusion LenderComm reportedly enables banks to instantly share credit agreements, accrual balances and position data to lenders.

Cécile Bartenieff, Chief Operating Officer of Global Banking and Investor Solutions at Societe Generale, stated that the Fusion LenderComm initiative will bring more transparency and operational efficiency to the syndicated loan market, which is “an illustration of how blockchain can help banks optimize the entire flow of financial operations.”

In October 2018, United Kingdom-based bank NatWest integrated the Fusion LenderComm platform.

Earlier today, popular Brazlian bank Banco Bradesco joined R3’s Marco Polo blockchain network for trade finance. Other member organizations include BNP Paribas, ING and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

Recently, Nordic private banking institution Nordea announced an expansion of its blockchain-powered trading platform we.trade to small and medium-sized business customers (SMEs). The platform intends to bring more trust in dealing with cross-border trades by SMEs.