Today Sony Bank announced an alliance with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SuMi TRUST) to offer digital securities to Sony Bank’s retail clients. Together they are creating a joint trust to manage condominium loan receivables held by Sony Bank, which are being tokenized. The digital securities will be issued on the permissioned blockchain platform operated by Securitize Japan.
Sony Financial Ventures invested in Securitize’s Series A, and SuMi TRUST invested in the Series B. SuMi TRUST previously issued a security token on the platform.
“Security Tokens are a revolutionary solution that expands the range of investment possibilities for our customers,” said Naofumi Watanabe, Sony Bank’s Managing Executive Officer, Sony Bank. ”Sony Bank will add security token solicitation to its product lineup, and aim to be a bank that offers optimal proposals to customers as an asset management bank for individuals.”
Last month Sony Bank also partnered with Mitsui & Co Digital Asset Management (Mitsui) to offer digital securities to its Japanese clients. Mitsui recently launched Alterna, a digital securities offering that tokenizes real estate assets, targeting retail clients directly. While it is offered to Sony Bank clients, users transact directly with Mitsui, cutting out the intermediaries from an administrative perspective.
However, after much fanfare, Mitsui recently announced Alterna’s first closing of Yen $1.5 billion ($10 million) after almost a month of sales.
