UK-based Blockchain firm Setl has appointed former French central bank governor Christian Noyer as one of its board members.
Launched in 2015, Setl is building a blockchain-based infrastructure for institutional Payments and settlements with a capacity of over a billion transactions per day. This latest appointment comes ahead of the company’s expansion plans in the markets of Europe, Asia, and the United States.
Christian Noyer, Source: Setl
Noyer is a veteran economist and has held the apex position at the French central bank for more than a decade. Prior to that, he also served the European central bank as a vice president.
In addition, he is advising the French government on the upcoming Brexit and is a non-executive director of London’s Lloyds Bank.
Commenting on this appointment, Philippe Morel, CEO of Setl, said: “The appointment of Christian Noyer as a director will assist SETL in many ways. We believe we have a technological lead in the blockchain for financial markets arena having demonstrated the ability to process billions of transactions a day and to be able to service over 100 million addresses concurrently. We are unique in having both a financial grade product and a proven deployment route."
“We do not underestimate the challenges of re-tooling some of the most fundamental elements of our financial infrastructure but the benefits of doing so are significant and widespread. We are strongly positioned to commence that transformation and look forward to making further announcements shortly.”
Big Names, Big Goals
Setl already had some big names on its board of directors including former Barclays and Morgan Stanley chairman Sir David Walker, former Bank of England deputy governor Rachel Lomax, and ex-Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards. Adding Noyer to this group is expected to strengthen the firm further.
Sir David Walker, chairman of Setl, said: “I am delighted to welcome Mr. Noyer to the board and to thank our existing directors for their guidance and counsel over the past two years. Christian Noyer brings a wealth of experience in the financial, regulatory, economic management and central banking world. His contribution to the board process will be of significant benefit to the executive team, shareholders and stakeholders alike.”
Setl has already secured $39m (£30m) in over three funding rounds, and the investors include Deloitte and Credit Agricole.
“With the encouragement of shareholders and the revenue generating projects we have recently announced we are adding significantly to the strength to the company. At this stage in the development of the technology and its business applications it is important to choose the right projects and to deliver a dependably resilient product to the market,” Sir Walker added.
