Iberdrola, BBVA and Santander have completed a EUR 150 million syndicated loan managed fully on blockchain, according to a report by The Paypers. The parties describe the transaction as the first live syndicated loan to run across its entire lifecycle on distributed ledger technology (DLT), from execution and disbursement through to maturity.

Iberdrola, a Spanish energy company, said the financing fits its digital transformation strategy, which relies on data and emerging technologies to streamline financial and treasury processes. The deal places blockchain within a corporate lending structure involving a borrower, an agent bank and multiple lenders — the defining feature of syndicated lending, in which several institutions jointly fund a single credit under shared terms rather than one bank carrying the full exposure.

The financing was carried out on a platform developed by blockchain technology firm ioBuilders with support from BBVA and Santander. Law firm Gómez-Acebo & Pombo acted as legal adviser. The transaction covers interest management, waivers, repayments and assignments, as well as the initial funding and final maturity.

How the Loan Is Managed Fully on Blockchain

The platform gives participating institutions a single synchronized record of loan data. In conventional syndicated lending, participants reconcile separate databases. Here, the shared record is designed 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 life of the loan, 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, with each event recorded on the distributed ledger.

Alberto Falco, Head of Portfolio Monitoring and Innovation at BBVA CIB, said the model combines an immutable record with smart contract programmability to automate operational processes. The report 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 notes that the product has seen limited digitalization and has been available to relatively few clients. Against that backdrop, the parties' "first" designation implies earlier blockchain initiatives in the segment stopped short of a fully live, end-to-end deployment.

Institutions Plan to Expand the Shared Loan Platform

The institutions involved 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 report does not provide cost figures, adoption numbers or evidence that access has already expanded.

According to the report, 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. Rob Kay, Global Head of Investment Grade and Emerging Markets Debt at Santander CIB, called the transaction a basis for industry collaboration. BBVA aims for the platform to become a meeting point that other institutions can join.

Carlos Matilla, CEO of ioBuilders, 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.

With the facility now live, the participating institutions have a working transaction around which to pursue their planned onboarding phase. The observable markers of that expansion will be new institutions joining the platform, additional functionality going live, and whether quantified figures on costs or processing times emerge to substantiate the stated benefits.