The UK government has appointed six banks to lead the issuance of the first digital native government bonds, expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2027

The UK government has appointed Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest, and RBC Capital Markets as the joint lead managers for the first digital native government bond, the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT), expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2027. The six banks will provide underwriting, investor communication, and distribution services.

DIGIT will be issued through a platform within the UK's digital securities sandbox and will test the application of distributed ledger technology in government bond issuance and its entire lifecycle, including on-chain settlement. Lucy Rigby, the UK's Economic Secretary to the Treasury, stated that the project aims to explore the application of distributed ledger technology in the sovereign debt market and to promote the development of the UK's digital financial infrastructure. HSBC was appointed as the distributed ledger technology provider for the pilot in February and reached an agreement with the London Stock Exchange Group in July to develop a digital securities depository connection solution.