Norinchukin Trust Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Norinchukin Bank, is newly entering the trust business for digital securities (security token, ST) funds. Five companies—Norinchukin Trust Bank, Kenedix, KDX ST Partners, SBI Securities, and Progmat—announced the collaboration on November 5. This is the first time the Norinchukin Bank group has been involved in the ST business.
The five companies will jointly work on structuring real estate ST deals using “Progmat,” the digital asset issuance and management platform operated by Progmat. The announcement did not disclose specifics such as target properties, issue amount, or sales timing; it merely marks the start of collaboration aimed at developing deals.
STs are a general term for securities that can be transferred using blockchain technology and other means, characterized by the ability to fractionalize assets such as real estate and funds for sale to investors. Under the framework, Norinchukin Trust Bank will serve as trustee of a “beneficiary certificate issuing trust” used to issue real estate STs, managing trust assets and the beneficiary registry. Progmat’s platform will be used for registry management.
Roles are clearly divided. Kenedix will act as sponsor and arranger, supplying target properties and structuring the scheme, while KDX ST Partners will serve as asset manager, handling management after ST structuring and information disclosure to investors. SBI Securities will underwrite and sell the STs, with an eye toward offering products to individual investors. Progmat will provide “Progmat SaaS” to both Norinchukin Trust Bank and SBI Securities.
Progmat SaaS is a service that allows financial institutions to begin registry management and custody operations for digital assets without building blockchain nodes on their own servers. It also enables securities firms to complete management of investors’ private keys in-house rather than entrusting it to an external custodian. Norinchukin Trust Bank is also looking at partnerships with securities firms other than SBI Securities.
| Entity | Role in the collaboration |
|---|---|
| Norinchukin Trust Bank | Trustee of the beneficiary certificate issuing trust; manages trust assets and beneficiary registry |
| Kenedix | Sponsor and arranger; supplies target properties and structures the scheme |
| KDX ST Partners | Asset manager; management and information disclosure after ST structuring |
| SBI Securities | Underwrites and sells STs; offers products to individual investors |
| Progmat | Provides the “Progmat” issuance and management platform and “Progmat SaaS” |
Note: Compiled based on the five companies’ announcement. Target properties, issue amount, and sales timing have not been disclosed.
Norinchukin Trust Bank invested in Progmat in April 2025 and has worked on developing the digital asset issuance market, including institutional design, and on cultivating new assets. This collaboration moves beyond its position as an investor to the stage of actually serving as trustee for ST deals.
Kenedix and KDX ST Partners have a track record of collaborating on Japan’s first publicly offered real estate ST using the Progmat platform in July 2021, together with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, which operated Progmat at the time. SBI Securities also participated in that deal. The two companies will apply the structuring and management expertise gained through publicly offered real estate STs to this framework.
Regarding the SBI group, SBI PTS Holdings announced in September 2023 the signing of a shareholders’ agreement concerning the establishment of Progmat, and in November 2025 SBI Shinsei Bank and Norinchukin Bank announced a basic agreement on a business alliance. SBI Securities aims to create synergies with partners through collaboration within and outside the group.
Norinchukin Bank and Norinchukin Trust Bank will advance research on blockchain-based financial solutions as a group, using this real estate ST as an opportunity. Norinchukin Trust Bank says it aims to provide new investment opportunities over the medium to long term to investors including agricultural cooperative organizations and members, through financial products previously limited to large institutional investors and through digitizing non-financial assets derived from agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.
In the real estate ST market, publicly offered deals are accumulating in Japan, and cases in which trust banks participate as trustees are increasing. If Norinchukin Trust Bank’s entry materializes, the pool of financial institutions handling ST issuance and management will widen further. However, what was announced this time is only the framework for collaboration; structuring individual deals and sales timing remain issues for future consideration.
Market participants say that building a framework in which issuers, distributors, trustees, and platform providers can collaborate is essential for the spread of STs. Combining the Norinchukin Bank group’s ties with agricultural cooperative organizations and members with SBI Securities’ retail sales network could potentially expand the investor base. On the other hand, some point out that the selection of target assets and profitability outlook remain unclear, and that it will take time for deals to take concrete shape.
For Norinchukin Trust Bank, the move carries significance as developing a new revenue source for its trust business. Digital securities trust operations require management systems and system support different from conventional real estate trusts and pension trusts, so the focus will be on whether the use of Progmat SaaS can keep initial burdens down. How the group’s first ST deal will take concrete shape is drawing attention ahead of future announcements.