Iberdrola, BBVA and Santander have completed a EUR 150 million syndicated loan managed fully on blockchain, according to The Paypers report. The parties describe it as the first live syndicated loan to run across its full lifecycle on distributed ledger technology, from execution and disbursement to maturity.
The financing uses a platform developed by ioBuilders with support from BBVA and Santander. Gómez-Acebo & Pombo served as legal adviser. The transaction covers interest management, waivers, repayments and assignments as well as the initial funding and final maturity.
The deal places blockchain within a corporate lending process that involves a borrower, an agent bank and multiple lenders. Iberdrola said the financing fits its digital transformation strategy, which relies on data and emerging technologies to streamline financial and treasury processes.
How the Loan Is Managed Fully on Blockchain
The platform gives participating institutions one synchronized record of loan data. In conventional syndicated lending, participants reconcile separate databases. Here, the shared record is intended to replace that reconciliation with information visible in real time to authorized participants.
The agent bank appointed for the financing retains operational control. Across the loan’s life, the platform coordinates interest calculations and notices, principal and fee payments, early repayments, and monitoring of financial covenants and information undertakings. It also handles certain contractual consents and transfers of lender participations.
Each event is recorded on the distributed ledger. BBVA CIB’s Head of Portfolio Monitoring and Innovation, Alberto Falco, said the model combines an immutable record with smart contract programmability to automate operational processes. The source attributes the statement to Falco; it does not detail which steps are automated or quantify the time saved.
ioBuilders stated that the transaction was carried out with full legal validity. The report describes syndicated lending as a core corporate finance segment with a high administrative burden and close coordination needs among the agent bank, lending banks and borrower. It says the product has seen limited digitalization and has been available to relatively few clients.
Institutions Plan to Expand the Shared Loan Platform
The institutions argue that applying distributed ledger technology could simplify loan lifecycle management, reduce operating costs and improve coordination. They also suggest it may increase market liquidity and make syndicated financing more accessible to mid-sized companies by simplifying processes that have limited participation.
Those are the parties’ stated potential benefits, not measured outcomes from the reported transaction. The source does not provide cost figures, adoption numbers or evidence that access has already expanded. It says the next step is to onboard new participants progressively and expand platform functionality.
The stated aim is a shared infrastructure for the syndicated loan market rather than a proprietary tool for the founding banks. Santander CIB Global Head of Investment Grade and Emerging Markets Debt Rob Kay called the transaction a basis for industry collaboration. BBVA aims for the platform to become a meeting point other institutions can join.
ioBuilders CEO Carlos Matilla said the underlying technology could support more efficient balance sheet management, including new approaches to mobilizing loans in the secondary market. The report presents this as a possible use of the technology, not a completed feature of the current deal.
Other BlockTelegraph coverage has examined blockchain platforms for financial institutions, a proposed shared network among US banks, and financial institutions moving operations onto blockchain networks. The Iberdrola facility now gives the participating institutions a live transaction around which to pursue their planned onboarding phase.