Philippines

Union Bank of the Philippines Marks PSEi return with a 12B SRO

Union Bank of the Philippines recently concluded its P12-billion stock rights offering with the listing of its shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange. At the bell ringing ceremony that opened trading for the week and jump started the PSE capital raising season, PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon warmly acknowledged the UnionBank milestone.

"I believe that the confidence of both the institutional and retail investors of UnionBank stems from the Bank's reputation of being a trailblazer in digital banking, its strategic initiatives, and its top-notch and very able leadership team from its chairman Mr Eramon I Aboitiz to its president Mr Edwin R Bautista, and to the Bank's directors and management officers," said Monzon as he welcomed UnionBank as the first listed company to hold the bell ringing ceremony at the PSE Museum.

Monzon recognized the return of UnionBank to the 30member PSE index after 14 years and concluded "At the PSE we are eager to see the next phase of UnionBank's digital transformation, as the bank works toward its vision of leading the future in banking."

In acknowledgment, UnionBank President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista said "The strong participation of our existing shareholders on our Stock Rights Offering, reflects their trust in the value that will be created by executing our strategies."

Proceeds from the SRO will be allocated to support the growth of the Bank's various business segments and its wholly-owned subsidiary UnionDigital. Bautista added, "With the completion of our SRO, we aim to pursue our long-term objective to become a leader in retail banking in the Philippines."

Attending the listing ceremony were: Aboitiz Equity Ventures chief finance officer Jose Emmanuel Hilado, UBP director and Chief Finance Officer Manuel Lozano, UBP director Chief Digital Channels Officer and Chief Customer Experience Officer Ana Maria Delgado, UBP  director Samel Aboitiz, UBP President and Chief Executive Officer Edwin Bautista, PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon, PSE COO Roel Refran, PSE Issuer Regulation Division head Marigel Garcia, Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines COO Renee Rubio and PSE general counsel Veronica Del Rosario.