Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently represented the Philippine banking industry for the third time at the five-day virtual Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF), the world’s largest FinTech event and global platform for the FinTech community, on December 7 to 11. The festival spotlighted key executives and thought-leaders from Asia including Global tech legends like Bill Gates, Google CEO.
This year’s festival featured a unique hybrid format that combines a 24-hour online event platform with over 40 global satellite events in Fintech hubs around the world including the Philippines, through the World FinTech Festival.
UnionBank was the only Philippine bank among hundreds of organizations that joined the five-day World Fintech Festival PH, which gathered startups, investors, regulators, and other stakeholders in the banking, finance, and fintech industries from across the region. Through participation in the said event, UnionBank was able to prove that the Philippines can compete with the best of the best when it comes to banking and fintech innovation.
UnionBank Vice-Chairman Dr. Justo A. Ortiz was interviewed live on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia” during the festival. Ortiz talked about one of the industry-leading solutions that the Bank showcased which is the use of blockchain-mirroring for its latest bond offering that was officiated on December 9. This was done in partnership with SC Ventures, the innovation, ventures, and fintech investments arm of British banking giant Standard Chartered Bank.
“It’s a mirrored transaction. We had a digital ordering book. We tokenized the bond, but we didn’t actually issue it to the investors. We issued them traditionally and we have our back end also on the blockchain,” said Ortiz.
“That’s what’s interesting going forward because that will democratize the bond offering, expand our investor base, and even allow foreign offshore Filipino workers to participate in this sort of bond offering,” Ortiz added.
When asked about the possible trends that will shape the digital banking and fintech space going forward, Ortiz said that it will be the increase in competition among players, especially in developing markets like the Philippines wherein many are still not part of the country’s banking system, creating opportunities for securing new customers.
“The biggest trend will be competition. We’re seeing that the regulators are giving out digital bank licenses. Our own regulator just came out with its circular to do so. We’re seeing the “techfins” and fintechs separately from applying for digital bank license coming into our marketplaces, and we’re looking forward to the high probability of open banking regulations,” Ortiz said.
“That greater competition I think is going to stimulate the growth of the market, even at the same time that it creates tension between the different participants, simply because we have a huge unbanked population. And as GDP growth comes forward, in the future we feel that this will be a big opportunity,” he concluded.
UnionBank first showcased and represented the Philippines at the Singapore Fintech Festival in 2018, the only Philippine bank to do so. Last year, UnionBank was again the only Philippine bank that exhibited at the festival.
Among UnionBank’s thought-leaders who spoke at various stages throughout the week-long event were UnionBank Chief Technology and Operations Officer & Chief Transformation Officer, SEVP Henry Aguda was a reactor at the discussion on The Next Normal: Accelerating PH Digital Transformation Post-COVID. Chief Human Resources Officer, EVP Michelle Rubio was a panelist at the discussion on Upskilling and Reskilling: Bridging the Skills Gap to turn Filipino talent into Digital Star Players. Dr. David Hardoon, UnionBank Senior Advisor for Data and Artificial Intelligence, shared the Bank’s digital transformation approach when it comes to application programming interface or APIs and open banking in the “Planet of the APIs” discussion at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2020.
Fintech Group Head, Senior Vice President Arvie de Vera was a panelist at the discussion on Banks and Fintech and the advantages that mass adoption brings the public. Blockchain Center of Excellence Head Cathy Casas and Product Manager Ram Cervantes were panelists in blockchain discussions hosted by award-winning blockchain startup STACS. CitySavings Bank President and CEO Larry Ocampo was a panelist at the discussion on Financial Inclusion – Transforming the financially disenfranchised into economic contenders. UBX Advisor to the Board Christ Kaaptein and Chief Investment Officer Matt Kolling were panelists at the discussion on The Digital Crown Jewel – What investors look for in ideas and enterprises they support.
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