The country’s first-ever tokenized treasury bonds (TTBs) will promote financial inclusion and broader participation in the bond market, Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said on Monday, Nov. 20.

During the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) 126th anniversary, Diokno commended the bureau for the launching of TTBs and its other initiatives in strengthening the country’s capital markets and financial inclusion.

“This strategic move aims to democratize access to government securities by making them more accessible and affordable for every Filipino investor,” the finance secretary said.

“We are excited for this opportunity to issue our very first Tokenized Treasury Bonds. The success of this issuance will go a long way towards advancing our efforts in the digitalization space,” he added.

The TTBs are one-year fixed-rate government securities that pay semi-annual coupons, with the coupon rate set at 6.50 percent and will be offered to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) on Nov. 20. The issue date is scheduled on Nov. 22.

The Treasury saw strong demand from qualified institutional investors for the TTBs, with a total amount of P15 billion awarded, significantly higher than the minimum issue size of P10 billion.

The TTBs will be issued in the form of digital tokens which will be maintained in the BTr’s Distributed Ledger Technology Registry.

The issuance of the TTBs finalizes the BTr's Government Securities (GS) Digitalization Roadmap which is a series of digitalization reforms that streamline end-to-end investing in GS, reducing operational risk and friction costs for both institutional and retail investors.

Further, BTr also implemented online channels, such as the Online Ordering Facility and mobile banking applications of partner banks, which allow investors to purchase government securities remotely.

For instance, Retail Treasury Bonds were offered for a low minimum investment of P5,000, while Retail Dollar Bonds were offered for a minimum investment of only $200, which allows small-scale investors to participate and diversify their portfolios.

The government also retained the PesoClear structure which allows peso account holders to purchase RDBs without having to open a separate US dollar account, which resulted in raising over P356 billion.

“Progress in financial inclusion has been equally encouraging. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that as of 2021, 56 percent of Filipino adults now have transaction accounts – a marked improvement from the 29 percent in 2019,” Finance Secretary Diokno said.

“I am confident that the Bureau of the Treasury will remain instrumental in helping us achieve our target of banking 70 percent of the adult population,” he further said.

Meanwhile, the BTr awarded at the same event the top ten Government Securities Eligible Dealers Market Makers for 2024 which are Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, China Banking Corporation, Citibank N.A., Development Bank of the Philippines, First Metro Investment Corporation, Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, Unionbank of the Philippines, and the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company.

The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company was recognized as the top GSED-Market Maker.