Deep collaboration across industry with UK policymakers has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today. This UK Finance Digital Gilt Roadmap aims to support discussions between government, the Debt Management Office, HM Treasury, regulators and wider industry stakeholders. For the purposes of this paper, we use “digital gilts” to refer to digital sovereign debt instruments that would include digital Treasury bills and digital gilts of varying tenors.

A digital gilt was as key recommendation of UK Finance’s 2023 Unlocking the Power of Securities Tokenisation report. This 2023 report provided an operational roadmap for industry and policy makers and explored how the tokenisation of the securities markets and the corresponding use of distributed ledger technology and smart contracts will fundamentally transform the capital markets and international banking infrastructure here in the UK.

Conor Lawlor, Managing Director of Capital Markets & Wholesale policy at UK Finance said: 

UK Finance welcomes the announcement of a UK digital gilt from the Chancellor. We have been grateful for the engagement shown by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and officials on this issue in recent months. A UK digital gilt program will serve as one pillar among many aimed at building UK capital markets fit for the future. It will foster greater efficiency in the market, while promoting broader market participation. UK Finance stands ready to support government and the Debt Management Office in delivering a successful program.

Monica Gogna, Partner and Head of EY’s Financial Institutions Law Group, and Pierre Pourquery, Partner and Head of Capital Markets for EY said:

Launching a digital gilt programme could unlock new growth opportunities for the UK’s financial services industry, and sends a clear message that the UK continues to lead on financial innovation. EY is proud to be supporting both industry and government to navigate this exciting proposition.