MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Media OutReach - 17 July 2019 - Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) announced today it has adopted Refinitiv'sElectronic Trading (ET) solution to power its business in the Philippines and strengthen its presence in both the local and international foreign exchange markets.

In the Southeast Asian region, electronic trading has gained ground since banks require flexible trading platforms and tools that provide control over electronic pricing, distribution and hedging that meet the changing demands of their client base while improving efficiency through automation. Being plugged in to rapidly growing Asian wealth opportunity, financial institutions are looking for an effective tool to increase their competitiveness. 

Through ET over 300 financial institutions across 80 countries globally are already benefiting from a next-generation e-commerce trading platform. Accessible via FXT, the single source of access to preferred FX trading venues, ET offers a powerful suite of e-commerce products to shape, configure and automate FX prices to customers while streamlining risk management.

"As the leading provider of trading and analysis platforms for foreign exchange markets, we are honored to be entrusted by UnionBank. We have been present in the Philippines for over 70 years and the country has great potential to become a leading Asian financial centre. As the first local bank to adopt Refinitiv's ET system, UnionBank will have access to an efficient and digitized FX trading platform to ensure its nationwide branch network is more connected, enabling the on-going growth of its FX business. We look forward to deepening our partnership along UnionBank's FX digital journal," said Luke Elliott, Director of Trading for Asia Pacific at Refinitiv.

"Our adoption of Refinitiv's electronic trading allows us to distribute reliable and live prices to our branch network using a cloud-based platform with straight-through processing for operating efficiency. We aim to be the first bank to provide an executable live FX platform that would link corporate clients to the dealing room via the internet resulting to enhanced customer experience," said UnionBank Chief Finance Officer and Treasurer Jose Emmanuel Hilado.

For more information about Refinitiv FX solutions, please see here.

Refinitiv is one of the world's largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, serving over 40,000 institutions in over 190 countries. It provides leading data and insights, trading platforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect a thriving global financial markets community - driving performance in trading, investment, wealth management, regulatory compliance, market data management, enterprise risk and fighting financial crime.

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has consistently been recognized as one of Asia's leading companies in banking and finance, ranking among the Philippines' top 10 universal banks in terms of key performance ratios in profitability, liquidity, solvency and efficiency.