[UK Government Appoints Six Banks to Lead Issuance of First Digital Native Government Bond, Expected in Q1 2027] Odaily Planet Daily News – The UK government has appointed Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, NatWest, and RBC Capital Markets as joint lead managers for the first digital native government bond, the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT), which is expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2027. The six banks will provide underwriting, investor communication, and distribution services. DIGIT will be issued through a platform within the UK Digital Securities Sandbox and will test the application of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the issuance and full lifecycle of government bonds, including on-chain settlement. UK Treasury Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby stated that the project aims to explore the use of distributed ledger technology in the sovereign debt market and promote the development of the UK's digital financial infrastructure. HSBC was appointed as the distributed ledger technology provider for the pilot in February and reached an agreement with the London Stock Exchange Group in July to develop a digital securities depository connectivity solution. (Cointelegraph)