Last May, Volvo completed a dual tranche €1bn syndicated benchmark bond issuance on Origin, a platform designed to digitise the primary issuance process. Preparing, reviewing, signing and distributing the transaction documents, like the term-sheet, pricing supplement and subscription agreement can take days. But Origin’s platform transforms the process around preparing the documentation and sharing the data contained within the documentation, making it faster, cheaper and more efficient.

Origin connects market participants with market infrastructure to digitise and automate the bond issuance process, so that complex flows are streamlined and manual processes are eliminated. Volvo’s syndicated benchmark followed a private placement transaction in 2021, also issued via Origin. As of today, Volvo, have completed two private placements and four benchmarks via Origin.

“Volvo’s capital markets presence in recent years has increased in line with the growth of the underlying business. That means we are a frequent issuer working with many banks. We are issuing very standardised products with a post trade process that hasn’t changed for decades. Origin offers us a way to efficiently standardise these processes and bring them to the digital era. Having seen draft trade documentation ready just a couple of hours after bond pricing really made me aware of the opportunity to improve efficiency,” said Danijel Afolter, Portfolio Manager at the Volvo Treasury AB.