LONDON, Thursday 30 April 2026 – The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) has published the Digital Bonds Annex, to accompany the Global Master Securities Lending Agreement (GMSLA) documentation suite.
Developed by the Digital Steering and Digital Legal Working Groups in partnership with ICMA and with Clifford Chance as appointed counsel, the following documents have been produced:
- Digital Bonds Annex – GMSLA 2010
- Digital Bonds Annex Guidance Note GMSLA 2010
- Digital Bonds Annex -GMSLA 2018 (Pledge)
- Digital Bonds Annex Guidance Note – GMSLA 2018 (Pledge)
Please note, ISLA members will need be logged into the ISLA website to access the documents, non-members can access the annexes by requesting them directly from support@islaemea.org.
The publication of the Digital Bonds Annex follows the Digital Assets Annex which was published in 2024 to provide a standard template, framework and set of terms for any transactions in which the loaned securities consist of, or include Asset-backed Digital Assets or Platform Transferred Securities.
The newly published Digital Bonds Annex enables a broader suite of digital asset classes to be covered by the GMSLA, meeting ISLA member demand and ensuring the GMSLA remains at the leading edge of the evolution of DLT-based securities.
Tina Baker, Head of Legal Services, ISLA, commented “It has been great to work with ISLA members, ICMA and Clifford Chance on the second Digital Assets Annex for the GMSLA. Providing standard templates and promoting consistency in legal terms that SFT market participants can use when transacting in digital securities is an important step for the continued growth and adoption of these technologies.”
Michael Brown, Partner, Clifford Chance “We’re delighted to have assisted ICMA and ISLA with the development of the Digital Bonds Annexes. The publication of the annexes is a significant milestone for the integration of natively issued digital bonds into established securities financing frameworks and we were delighted to support the working groups deliver documentation to enable continued innovation in the market.”
All of the ISLA annex templates can be found in the Addendum & Country Annexes section within the GMSLA Title Transfer page on our website, the Pledge Annexes can be found here.
