• Origin in partnership with Clearstream launches instant-ISIN feature for Eurobonds (i.e. “XS” ISIN codes); the service will be rolled out across the issuer base over the course of the summer
• Open-source data standard Airbrush V2 adds new features; Clearstream and Paying Agents can now receive transaction data via Airbrush; digital listing at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange launched earlier this year is also compatible with Airbrush V2.
• Market-first, truly open-source term sheet template available for free use by all fixed-income market participants to foster standardisation of bond issuance

Origin Markets, the London-based fintech digitising debt capital markets, is launching an instant-ISIN feature, created in collaboration with Clearstream, which enables immediate, integrated ISIN code allocation for Eurobonds. ISIN codes are provided by Clearstream Banking S.A. and will support Eurobond issuance (i.e. “XS” ISIN codes).  The structured data from the approved termsheet is validated against ICSD requirements directly on Origin platform, allowing codes to be provided instantaneously and accelerating a process that can sometimes take hours. 

Airbrush: enhanced data standard for bond issuance

The service launch coincides with the release of the next iteration of Airbrush, an interface data standard that aims to act as a universal language for all bond issuance market participants. Airbrush v2 covers a broader set of data, delineates between the data required for ISIN allocation at termsheet completion and those required for settlement and enhances scalability by incorporating a nested structure. The new version was developed in close consultation with industry partners.

As first-movers, Clearstream can now receive transaction data via Airbrush. Origin and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange have also ensured compatibility of the digital listing service with Airbrush V2.

Raja Palaniappan, CEO and co-founder of Origin, said: "Today is a big day for Origin as we release our instant-ISIN feature with Clearstream. Dealers and issuers have been calling out for faster code allocation for a long time, and we are pleased to be able to offer that to our customers going forward. We are especially thrilled to release the specs for Airbrush v2, which drives both our instant-ISIN feature and our digital listing API with the LuxSE. These are just two examples of post-trade efficiency that is possible when the market adopts a universal data standard, and we are pleased to see the momentum Airbrush has already gained. In launching these new features and providing free access to these solutions, we hope to catalyse and support industry-wide innovation. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing is invaluable in achieving this.”

Guido Wille, Head of Eurobonds Business at Clearstream, said: “The Instant-ISIN feature is a major step for the whole Eurobonds market. As the market has grown tremendously not only during the pandemic, efficiency and automation are becoming indispensable to handle large volumes in a scalable way. We are glad to offer our clients leading-edge issuance services together with Origin.”

Open-source term sheet

One feature of the new Airbrush release is a market-first, truly open-source term sheet template for Eurobonds. It is available for free use by all fixed-income market participants to foster standardisation of bond issuance. The term sheet will be available in two forms:

1. A marked-up version created for use by dealers, issuers, law firms, and others annotated with directions to aid in the completion of the form
2. A machine-readable version, marked-up using Jinja, the open-source templating language created for Python. As Jinja and Python are both open-source, anyone can test the termsheet using a freely available Jinja templating library online