Heuking Advises Consortium on its Collaboration With the Banque de France, the Swiss National Bank and the BIS Innovation Hub on a Wholesale CBDC Cross-Border Experiment
December, 2021 - Germany
Heuking has advised a private sector consortium led by Accenture and including Credit Suisse, Natixis, R3, SIX Digital Exchange and UBS which on December 8 announced that, together with the Banque de France, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, it has con-ducted a cross-border settlement experiment (entitled Project Jura) using two wholesale CBDCs («wCBDC») and a digital financial instrument.
This follows Heuking’s advice to SIX Digital Exchange related to the recent granting on FINMA licenses for the operation of a Stock Exchange and as a Central Security Depository (CSD) for digital assets in Switzerland.
Marcel Hostettler, Banking & Finance Partner at Heuking says: ”We are honored to have advised SIX Digital Exchange and the consortium in respect of Project Jura, a novel cross-border settlement experiment. The experiment was highly complex as it included cross-border settlement in wCBDC on a single platform with three sub-networks, the issuance, redemption and secondary market settlement of digital financial instruments on a delivery versus payment basis against euro wCBDC, as well as cross- border transactions involving the payment versus payment settlement of euro wCBDC and Swiss franc CBDC between banks domiciled in France and Switzerland.”
Linklaters was legal lead advisor and Heuking was responsible for all Swiss legal matters. For more in-formation, please see the press releases issued by Accenture, the Banque de France, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub.
• Banque de France: https://www.banque-france.fr/en/communique-de-presse/banque-de-france-bank-international-settlements-and-swiss-national-bank-conclude-successful-cross
• Accenture: https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/new-report-by-accenture-banque-de-france-bis-innovation-hub-and-the-swiss-national-bank-outlines-novel-approach-for-cross-border-settlements.htm
• Jura Report: https://www.banque-france.fr/sites/default/files/media/2021/12/08/rapport_jura_v11_0.pdf
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dMyKC5lFlU&feature=youtu.be
Counsel to private sector consortium
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Marcel Hostettler (Lead, Banking & Finance),
Dr. Anna Wehrmüller (Banking & Finance), both Zurich
Dr. Anne de Boer, LL.M. (Capital Markets), Stuttgart
Dr. Christoph Gringel (Banking & Finance), Frankfurt
