Northern Trust has entered into a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to drive innovation in green finance and promote the adoption of green finance frameworks and blockchain technology.
The collaboration will focus on research and development for actionable solutions to address the challenges of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) finance. A centerpiece of the partnership is a tokenization initiative leveraging Northern Trust’s Matrix Zenith platform, aimed at bringing the green credentials of bonds on-chain. This development will enhance transparency and streamline investors’ regulatory reporting obligations, aligning with global sustainability standards.
The partnership seeks to create a framework for tokenizing green assets, enabling issuers and investors to better verify ESG claims and fulfill regulatory requirements for increased accountability in their portfolios.
Justin Chapman, global head of Digital Assets and Financial Markets at Northern Trust, said in a statement: “This collaboration with NUS represents a significant step forward in our efforts to harness blockchain technology for the betterment of sustainable finance. By bringing the green credentials of bonds on-chain, we are addressing investors’ need for transparency and reporting in a fast-evolving market.”
Yen Leng Ong, country executive for Southeast Asia at Northern Trust, said in a statement: “The collaboration between Northern Trust and NUS reflects a shared vision for driving meaningful change in the financial industry. Together, we aim to unlock new opportunities for sustainable investing and set a precedent for how technology can support the global transition to a greener economy.”
The partnership will also contribute to academic engagements through Northern Trust’s partnership with the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Programme (SBIP), a research lab at the NUS School of Computing (SoC). Research fellows and PhD candidates at SoC will be involved to brainstorm, design and develop the solution to support the development of talent in the fields of blockchain technology.
Tan Kian Woo, senior vice president and chief financial officer of NUS, said in a statement: “By combining our academic expertise with their tokenization platform, we aim to set a new benchmark for innovation in green finance, paving the way for a more sustainable financial future.”