C05216-2019

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONSEC FORM 17-C

CURRENT REPORT UNDER SECTION 17
OF THE SECURITIES REGULATION CODE
AND SRC RULE 17.2(c) THEREUNDER

1. Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)
Jul 26, 2019
2. SEC Identification Number
36073
3. BIR Tax Identification No.
000-508-271
4. Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter
UNION BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES
5. Province, country or other jurisdiction of incorporation
METRO MANILA
6. Industry Classification Code(SEC Use Only)
7. Address of principal office
UNIONBANK PLAZA, MERALCO AVENUE CORNER ONYX STREET, ORTIGAS CENTER, PASIG CITY Postal Code 1605
8. Issuer's telephone number, including area code
(02) 667-6388
9. Former name or former address, if changed since last report
N/A
10. Securities registered pursuant to Sections 8 and 12 of the SRC or Sections 4 and 8 of the RSA
Title of Each Class Number of Shares of Common Stock Outstanding and Amount of Debt Outstanding
COMMON 1,217,609,561
11. Indicate the item numbers reported herein
ITEM 9 - OTHER EVENTS

The Exchange does not warrant and holds no responsibility for the veracity of the facts and representations contained in all corporate disclosures, including financial reports. All data contained herein are prepared and submitted by the disclosing party to the Exchange, and are disseminated solely for purposes of information. Any questions on the data contained herein should be addressed directly to the Corporate Information Officer of the disclosing party.

Union Bank of the PhilippinesUBP

PSE Disclosure Form 4-13 - Clarification of News Reports References: SRC Rule 17 (SEC Form 17-C) and
Section 4.4 of the Revised Disclosure Rules

Subject of the Disclosure

Clarification of News Article posted in Philstar.net
Source Philstar.net
Subject of News Report UnionBank launches own cryptocurrency
Date of Publication Jul 26, 2019
Clarification of News Report

We respond to the letter dated July 26, 2019 of the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. with Reference No. CL-2019-005 seeking confirmation of the news article entitled “UnionBank launches own cryptocurrency” posted in Philstar.net on July 26, 2019, which states:

“MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines launched a stablecoin dubbed PHX and became the first bank in the country to conduct transactions using the blockchain technology.

UnionBank senior vice president and head of the fintech business group Arvie de Vera said the PHX transactions were implemented on the i2i platform that connects the listed bank to rural banks.

‘PHX is a stable store of value, medium of exchange and is a programmable token with self-executing logic. It enables transparent and automatic execution of payments,’ de Vera said.

With UnionBank as the issuer for PHX, its value is bank-backed and guaranteed to be at parity with the Philippine peso at all times. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to another stable asset such as gold or the Philippine peso, which minimizes volatility compared with the other cryptocurrencies such as the bitcoin.

Successful live transactions were by three rural bank participants including Summit Rural Bank in Luzon, Progressive Bank in Visayas and Cantilan Bank in Mindanao on the i2i network.

Each of the three rural banks performed buy, transfer, redemption transactions and domestic remittances using PHX.

‘Governance is assured by design. Reconciliation challenges of the past are no longer an issue. Meanwhile, audit and compliance are made easier,’ de Vera said.

As a start, PHX is available to i2i participants who can buy the stablecoin by directly debiting from their UnionBank accounts. Participants will also be able to easily redeem PHX for peso and have the funds credited to their UnionBank account.

Project i2i, which stands for island-to-island, institution-to-institution, and individual-to-individual, is UnionBank’s clearing system that connects rural banks through blockchain technology.

As PHX is designed to be interoperable, in the future it may be used across various platforms and wallets, not just in the Philippines but globally as well. This has the potential to make transactions, payments and other use cases more accessible, efficient and inclusive.

UnionBank aims to fulfill its purpose of promoting inclusive prosperity and add value for customers and communities through innovative solutions in support of the digital financial inclusion advocacies of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

xxx”


We confirm the above-quoted portions of the article. This pilot was approved and sanctioned by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Thank you.
Other Relevant Information

N/A
Filed on behalf by:
Name Buenaventura Sanguyo, Jr.
Designation Vice President / Assistant Corporate Secretary