• At Abu Dhabi Finance Week, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) together with Libre Capital, a Further Ventures-backed entity, announced their intention to work towards enabling onchain collateralised lending for Real World Assets.
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First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Libre Capital, a technology firm specialising in blockchain-based investment infrastructure and backed by Further Ventures, to explore innovative approaches to collateralised lending using public blockchains and tokenised RWAs.

The collaboration will combine Libre’s onchain primary issuance infrastructure and lending capabilities with FAB’s financial expertise and liquidity to create a fully automated, transparent, and efficient lending ecosystem. By using high-quality tokenised fund assets as collateral, the initiative aims to redefine Net Asset Value (NAV) financing, thereby unlocking new opportunities for accredited and institutional borrowers on public blockchain networks.

This MOU sets the foundation for a multi-phased approach to onchain collateralised lending, with the potential to transform traditional lending paradigms. The initial phase will pilot a credit line for stablecoin lending, backed by tokenised money market funds created by globally recognised asset managers. The system will leverage blockchain technology for automated collateral management, real time NAV updates via oracles, and smart contract-enabled loan monitoring.

With daily liquidity, seamless fund disbursements, and automated risk management, this initiative positions both organisations as leaders in blockchain-enabled NAV financing. It also paves the way for institutional participation in compliant tokenised markets, thereby bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralised ecosystems, while ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements across all jurisdictions.

Libre’s technology ushers in a new era of frictionless finance by allowing institutional or accredited investors to borrow against their holdings in tokenised financial assets. These assets are pledged to platform lenders and securely locked in smart contract vaults for the loan duration. This innovative lending format delivers unmatched efficiencies, including faster loan disbursement, cost-effectiveness, and complete onchain transparency.

Speaking at the signing, Sameh Al Qubaisi, Group Head of Global Markets, highlighted, “FAB’s involvement in this initiative underscores our commitment to drive innovation in the UAE’s financial landscape. Through this initiative, FAB aims to enable secure credit facilities backed by tokenised assets, with automated processes ensuring robust risk management and complete regulatory compliance. This venture aligns seamlessly with the UAE’s vision to become a global hub for financial and technological excellence.”

Dr. Avtar Sehra, founder and CEO of Libre, emphasised, "This partnership epitomises the transformative power of blockchain and RWAs in reimagining capital markets. Together with FAB, we are laying the foundation for a future where access to liquidity is seamless, secure, and globally interconnected."‍‍

Faisal Alhammadi, Managing Partner of Further Ventures, added that “At Further Ventures, we strongly believe in the transformative impact that tokenisation will have in reshaping the delivery of financial services. Through this partnership, we demonstrate how the UAE can continue to be a leader in digital asset adoption across institutional use-cases.”

Early shareholders in Libre include Nomura’s Laser Digital and WebN Group.

Libre Capital

Libre is building the investment infrastructure to enable asset managers to seamlessly connect with distributors and enable unparalleled access to global alternatives investment funds. In addition, Libre is developing value-add services in the alternative assets ecosystem, such as collateralised lending and automated rebalancing. Currently, Libre only makes its tokenised funds available to institutional and accredited investors.

For more information, visit: https://www.librecapital.com

For PR and media-related queries, please contact: info@librecapital.com

First Abu Dhabi Bank

Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is one of the world’s largest and safest financial institutions, with total assets of AED 1.2 trillion (USD 335 billion) as of end-September 2024 and a credit rating of Aa3/AA-/AA- from Moody’s, S&P and Fitch respectively, with a stable outlook. FAB provides financial services and expertise across five business units – Investment Banking, Corporate and Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, Private Banking, and Global Markets – through an international network that covers 20 markets worldwide. Listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), FAB is a leading Islamic finance provider and a pioneer in sukuk issuance offering comprehensive Shari’ah-compliant products. FAB is also a regional leader in sustainability, with an MSCI ESG rating of ‘AA,’ and ranked among the top 10% of banks globally according to Refinitiv’s ESG scores. The bank also received a regional-best Low ESG Risk evaluation from Sustainalytics, and the highest CDP score among UAE banks. FAB currently chairs the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) Steering Group and was the first GCC bank to join the UN-convened organisation in 2021.

For more information, visit: www.bankfab.com

For investor-related queries, please contact the FAB Investor Relations team on: ir@bankfab.com.

For PR and media-related queries, please contact: PRandmedia@bankfab.com.

Further Ventures

Further Ventures builds and invests in companies powering financial markets of the future. Further’s unique global platform bridges next-generation financial infrastructure in emerging economies with capital markets globally. Our companies enable institutional partners to securely transfer and store their assets, trade structured products, secure decentralized networks, tokenise funds, settle derivative transactions in a trustless manner, and much more. Founders from San Francisco to Hong Kong choose Further as their institutional co-founder of choice. We make concentrated capital commitments, work proactively with regulators, and bring our collective expertise to build category-leading companies.

For more information, visit: https://www.further.ae

For PR and media-related queries, please contact: reach@further.ae