Behind the Scenes of Deka's Blockchain Strategy

The word “tokenization” is used rather cautiously at Deka when referring to its own blockchain initiatives. It is considered too narrow; Deka prefers a broader, cross-process perspective – “digitization” is therefore the more appropriate term.

And yet, Deka – the securities house of Germany’s savings banks – is one of the tokenization pioneers in the country. As early as 2016, Deka began to closely examine the potential of blockchain technology for its business. The key turning point came with the introduction of the Electronic Securities Act (eWpG) in June 2021, which enabled the digital issuance of securities.

“Blockchain technology will fundamentally reshape the financial system. That’s why we started early to develop our own infrastructure. But it was the Electronic Securities Act that gave the decisive push – suddenly, we were able to issue digital products directly on-chain."
Marion Spielmann, Head of COO Banking & Custody

Since then, Deka has not only tokenized and successfully issued a wide range of financial products, but has also laid key regulatory and technological groundwork for the future. One example: the launch of its own blockchain infrastructure, later spun off under the name SWIAT, which now operates as a joint venture with partners like LBBW and Standard Chartered.

In addition, Deka is planning to launch a tokenization platform alongside its crypto custody business. In June, the company became the first bank to receive a full license to operate a crypto securities register. Until then, this business had been conducted under a preliminary license. A crypto custody license is also expected to follow soon.

Spielmann’s goal is to “cover the entire value chain of a digital product” and offer Sparkasse clients innovative financial instruments. What may now look like a meticulously executed five-year plan is in fact the result of continuous exploration to “safeguard the future of our business model.”

We wanted to better understand what Deka has learned throughout this exploration, what the next stages of its blockchain strategy look like, and what best practices the company has established internally to prepare its 5,000+ employees – and the broader Sparkassen network – for blockchain adoption. For this, we sat down with Marion Spielmann and two Digital Assets Product Owners: Andreas Sack, responsible for infrastructure, and Ernesto Pereira, responsible for digital financial products.

Beginnings and Motivation

Marion, you mentioned that your blockchain initiatives are primarily about securing Deka’s future competitiveness. How do you think this technology will impact your business not only strategically but also financially, especially your P&L? What long-term effects do you expect?