Clearstream Pioneers Dematerialized Eurobond Issuance

On August 7, 2026, Clearstream achieved a significant milestone in the digital transformation of capital markets by successfully completing the pilot issuance of a dematerialized Eurobond. 

This landmark transaction featured Clearstream Banking S.A. as issuer, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch as issuing and paying agent, UBS Investment Bank as dealer, and Citigroup Global Markets Limited as arranger. The transaction involved a Euro-Commercial Paper with a nominal amount of €50,000,000.

The new digital issuance model in action 

This first issuance was made possible by the introduction of the new issuance model by the two international central securities depositories (ICSDs), Clearstream and Euroclear, in March 2026. It represents a critical step ahead of the model’s full rollout in November 2026, when issuers incorporated outside the UK will be able to issue dematerialized debt securities under English law (click here for more details).  

The transaction effectively showcases the new issuance model in a live market environment, demonstrating its operational readiness, scalability, and enhanced framework:  

• This issuance represents the first paperless ICSD issuance, eliminating the traditional need for physical global notes to be produced, signed, printed and stored. 
• The issuing and paying agent, Deutsche Bank AG, could immediately instruct the creation of new securities without requiring a physical global note to be stored in a vault, thereby bypassing the manual handling processes associated with paper-based documents and allowing for a shorter execution time frame. 
• A definitive electronic record now serves as the legal “single source of truth”, significantly accelerating time to market and modernizing paper-based workflows. 

Key benefits for issuers

The digitization of the €15 trillion Eurobond market opens opportunities for innovation, positioning Eurobonds as a blueprint for faster, smarter and more resilient capital markets. It also paves the way for the adoption of advanced technologies with new solutions such as Clearstream’s D7^® platform, unlocking greater efficiency across the issuance lifecycle. Issuers can benefit in particular from:  

• Compressed issuance timelines: the potential for intra-day issuance increases operational efficiency and reduces market exposure. Timelines will be further compressed throughout the life cycle, as the need to create, effectuate, retrieve, or destroy global notes is removed, streamlining both the issuance and maturity processes. 
• Reduced operational risk: a simplified digital process eliminates the need for physical storage of final terms, physical certificates, vault inspections, and wet-ink signatures, removing associated costs and capacity constraints.  
• Greater financial flexibility: eligibility as Eurosystem collateral enhances the market attractiveness and liquidity of dematerialized Eurobonds.  
• Improved structured data: the new Issuance and Processing Taxonomy​ (IPT) enhances data quality and processing by applying a common set of data points across the international debt capital markets, enabling further automation and straight-through processing. 
• Enhanced regulatory alignment: a digital-first approach supports compliance with evolving securities regulation as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements. 
• Simplified U.S. tax treatment: dematerialized securities should be considered as “registered form” securities for U.S. federal income tax purposes, thereby falling outside the scope of restrictions related to bearer instruments, such as TEFRA. 

Shaping the future of global debt markets

This first dematerialized issuance highlights Clearstream’s role, not only as a trusted market infrastructure, but also as an active driver shaping the digital future of the global debt market. By expanding its proven next-generation D7 digital platform from domestic to international securities, Clearstream is unlocking new efficiencies and capabilities across the Eurobond market, positioning issuers and market participants for faster, smarter and more resilient capital markets operations.

With English law firmly established as a legal basis for issuing dematerialized Eurobonds, the two ICSDs are actively exploring new governing laws to expand our offering over the coming months.  

The journey is well underway—discover how dematerialized issuance can enhance your future transactions and digital strategies.