IHS Markit Accused of Derailing Blockchain-Based Trade Platform

IHS Markit Ltd. was hit with a lawsuit accusing it of “willful misconduct” aimed at keeping Synaps Loans LLC’s blockchain-based automated platform out of the $2.5 billion business of servicing syndicated loan trades.

Syndicated loans, which involve multiple lenders rather than just one, are so complex that coordinating and closing trades on the secondary market often takes 20 days or more, according to the May 31 complaint filed in the Delaware Chancery Court by Symbiont.io Inc., which owns half of Synaps.

The automated platform could reduce the trade settlement period to as few as three days, threatening Markit’s 99% share ...