BNP Paribas (EPA: BNP) has reportedly made its first investment in a Fintech VC fund managed by Anthemis.
The investment is being made via the French banking institution’s Global Markets Strategic Investments division, which actively invests in high-growth Fintech firms. It further solidifies the existing portfolio of Fintech-focused investments made by Global Markets, which reportedly includes Kantox, Symphony, Saphyre and Forge.
Olivier Osty, Head of Global Markets at BNP Paribas, stated:
“We are delighted to be investing in Anthemis which has a strong track record in fintech investments. We are not only investing in the fund but also looking at potential partnerships and co-investment opportunities which will support the capital markets industry and develop the next generation of fintech champions.”
A long-time investor in the Fintech sector, Anthemis in December 2021 had closed on a number of funds with a combined value of around $700 million, bringing the company’s total assets under management (AUM) to about £1.2 billion.
The unit has entered various partnerships with the likes of Barclays Bank via the Female Innovators Lab, and BBVA via a startup studio based in London.
Anthemis CEO Briana van Strijp remarked:
“For over a decade, Anthemis has been committed to reshaping financial services, cultivating change by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses committed to improving the world. This work cannot be done without partners like BNP Paribas.”
As covered recently, BNP Paribas Securities Services has carried out a technical proof of concept for mutual fund transfers via tech provider fundsonchain‘s settlement platform.
The fundsonchain platform supports the complete fund processing by automating it through end-to-end processing of tokenized fund shares, based on distributed ledger technology (DLT).
With assistance from Germany-headquartered financial services firm MEAG, and IT and services firm ERGO, BNP Paribas Securities Services served as a custodian and digital asset securities register manager for the proof-of-concept (PoC).
MEAG served in its role as the regulated capital management firm, meanwhile, ERGO served as an institutional investor.
The PoC allows participants to digitize their fund processing and to mostly eliminate sources of error in the transfer process by leveraging a DLT-powered “source of truth.”
The fundsonchain platform may be used to process investment funds that have been set up as electronic fund shares through tokenization.
This solution helps with creating the foundation for investment funds issuance with electronic shares or digital asset fund shares.
