Online broker flags security breach

MANILA, Philippines — COL Financial, the country’s largest online stock brokerage firm, disclosed Friday that its system may have been breached.

Data involving client information may have been stolen, COL said.

 “The company detected a possible breach involving some client information. This possible breach has not affected the account balances and stock positions of its clients, nor have transactions been compromised,” it said.

In the same disclosure, COL said it has taken the necessary steps to further strengthen the security of its systems and have filed the necessary reports to the National Privacy Commission.

The company likewise sent a letter to clients, saying that the breach has not been confirmed.

It also assured that COL has internal control procedures to prevent unauthorized withdrawals from (client’s) accounts.

COL is the dominant market leader in Philippine online stock brokering, with its online platform that offers access to both stocks and mutual funds. Its  mutual fund distribution business, COL Fund Source, carries pre-selected peso-denominated funds of the six asset management companies that altogether account for around 98 percent of the mutual fund industry’s assets under management.

It is the top choice for online investors and is very popular among millennials. It also provides a lot of sectoral outlooks on a regular basis. 

COL said it delivered strong first quarter  profits, posting a 41.9 percent jump in net income to P100.2 million. Revenues increased 24.7 percent to P213.6 million, largely driven by the strong growth of commissions, which expanded 17.7 percent to P139.2 million.