Emirates NBD issues MENA’s largest $272M digital bond

Emirates NBD, a banking group in the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye (MENAT) region, has issued a $272 million (AED 1 billion) digital bond utilizing DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology). This is the largest public digital bond issued in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The digital bond will be listed on Nasdaq Dubai, ensuring transparent price discovery, secondary market access, and alignment with international market standards, enhancing investor confidence. This will make the notes the first to be listed and admitted on Nasdaq Dubai. 

The bond was issued via a public offering under Emirates NBD’s Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) Program. It leveraged distributed ledger technology (DLT) on Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI) platform to digitize the bond lifecycle.

The D-FMI is a platform that helps to issue, distribute, and settle digital international securities using DLT. It also integrates seamlessly with established secondary-market services and trading venues, so investors retain access to familiar liquidity channels.

The Emirates NBD digital bond attracted a diverse investor base

As per the press release, the bond attracted a diverse investor base. Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq, and Standard Chartered acted as Joint Lead Managers, while Emirates NBD Capital and Standard Chartered acted as the Joint Digitally Native Note Structurers. Citi acted as the Issuing and Paying Agent. 

Ahmed Al Qassim, Group Head of Wholesale Banking, Emirates NBD, explained that the digital bond issuance is a landmark event not only for Emirates NBD but also for the region’s debt markets.

He added, “The UAE continues to set new benchmarks for digital assets and distributed ledger technology throughout the Middle East. We are confident that the transaction will enhance operational efficiency, speed up settlement cycles, and strengthen transparency and security for investors.” He also noted that this would build a more resilient digital capital markets ecosystem in the UAE and the region.

The CEO of Nasdaq Dubai, Hamed Ali, stated that listing an AED-denominated, digitally native bond on Nasdaq Dubai demonstrated the maturity of the digital debt market in a regulated, internationally aligned exchange environment.

Additionally, Bernard Ferran, Chief Commercial Officer, Euroclear Group, believes that this transaction will deliver real value for clients.  He explains that clients can now harness innovation without sacrificing reliability, benefiting from faster execution while maintaining seamless investor access, deep liquidity, and alignment with established market standards. 

Qatar National Bank becomes first to issue blockchain-enabled digital bond

In November 2025, Qatar National Bank (QNB) launched its first-ever native blockchain-enabled digital bond issuance, raising $500 million in what is being described as the largest transaction of its kind by a financial institution in the Middle East and Africa.

The digital bond issuance was powered by the HSBC Orion Blockchain solution. This step came as part of QNB’s strategy to tap new sources of stable funding from new markets with digitally innovative funding sources. HSBC acted as the sole bookrunner on the transaction, in what it called a further step in its ambition to bring end-to-end blockchain-based solutions to its global client base.

Before that, QNB Group, Standard Chartered, and DMZ Finance, an RWA tokenization infrastructure provider, launched the Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) first regulated tokenized money market fund, the QCD Money Market Fund (units in QCDT).

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