Meet the Future of Bond Issuance

13 February 2020

The close of 2019 was a period of major announcements for the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, one of its most notable being the acquisition of a 10% stake in London-based fintech company, Origin.

As 2020 starts to gather momentum, what better time than now to catch up with the company’s Co-Founder and CEO Raja Palaniappan to break down the past, present and future of Origin in what is sure to be its busiest year yet.

Taking centre stage

Origin was founded in 2015 and since then has developed a game-changing digital alternative to the cumbersome and time-consuming workflows that define the current process for bond issuance. Through digital deal execution and automated documentation flows, Origin aims to make the issuance process for new financial debt instruments smooth and efficient. But where did it all start?

The word ‘overnight success’ is thrown around a lot in today’s fast-paced world, but when it comes to bringing simplicity to the debt capital markets, make no mistake; Origin has been a labour of love and dedication to both Raja and his co-founder Robert Taylor since their days on the desks of Nomura in London.

We first started talking about doing something in 2012 and we spent about three years where Origin was a side project that we looked at on evenings and weekends, sometimes without touching it for months at a time.

Raja Palaniappan, CEO & Co-Founder, Origin

However, towards the end of 2014, the "project" started to gather its own pace and momentum.

I think that was a result of the growing number of people seeing interest in the idea coupled with the way that the technology ecosystem in London was growing.

From there, this momentum brought Raja and Rob to the attention of TechStars and its accelerator programme during a fintech Hackathon in October 2014. This would turn out to be one of the defining moments for Origin and its founders on the road to success.

Challenging traditional perceptions of technology

Fast forward to January 2020 and Origin is no longer a two-man job but a successful 12 person operation that, last year, helped its customers issue USD 21 billion in debt.

There are many reasons why Raja and his team experienced the “inflection point” that 2019 brought. Their early pivot away from the stereotypical disruptive attitude of other technology companies means that rather than become the enemy of investment banks, Origin has become an ally to these institutions. They've amassed 22 investment banks as customers, helping them to streamline the manual tasks that accompany new issuance.

Investment banks will always be there. We don’t believe that any technology is going to come around that is going to eliminate the need for these institutions but technology can help to connect them.

2020: The year of scaling

What started out as one product – Origin Marketplace – has now grown into a trio of products that provide a “fully digital, front-to-back issuance platform for global debt capital markets.” The Marketplace brings together issuers and dealers looking for global connectivity and a hunger for opportunity; meaning that the 10% stake invested by LuxSE at the end of 2019 came at the perfect point in the company’s development.

So far, we have been operating as a vendor, trying to sell our services and create buy-in. With the investment from LuxSE and the first strategic partnership that it brought – 2020 is all about scaling.

As a partner of Origin, LuxSE teams over 90 years of experience in the listing of international debt instruments with the drive for change and simplicity that Origin has brought to the primary markets as it enters its fifth year in business. The future looks incredibly bright, as both teams work together to streamline and automate the current debt origination process, and by doing so, shapes the future of bond issuance. One thing is for sure, Origin and LuxSE will remain at the heart of this development.

For more information on Origin, visit https://www.originmarkets.com/