RCBC offering securities via online retail platform

MANILA, Philippines — Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is set to offer both government and corporate bonds through its online banking retail platform, providing more investment opportunities to customers.

Robert Ramos, group head of the RCBC Trust and Investments Group (TIG), said the new debt securities from both the corporate and government sectors would be offered through RCBC Digital.

“As of now, we are focusing on offering debt securities due to the higher demand for these types of assets. The lower-risk nature of corporate bonds compared to assets like stocks or equities makes them inviting for investors, particularly in times of market uncertainty,” Ramos said.

He said investors may prefer these types of securities for potentially higher returns, relative liquidity and the quality of credit.

In 2021, RCBC launched an expanded version of its Investment Management Account(IMA) to an online platform. Through RCBC IMA Digital, clients can view and access their accounts entirely online.

The bank became the first financial institution in the Philippines to secure the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to create and launch an online platform for IMAs.

Through the platform, investors get the opportunity to capitalize on primary market peso-denominated government securities and corporate bonds through a convenient digital platform.

From January to March, RCBC’s assets under management (AUM) rose by 4.6 percent to hit an all-time high of P147.49 billion from P141.01 billion in the same period last year.

The asset growth was attributed to the bank’s strategic partnerships across other business groups of the bank such as Wealth Management and Retail Banking Group, and was primarily observed in the IMA and trust accounts.

AUMs refer to the total value of assets that an investment management company manages on behalf of its clients. These assets can include a wide range of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other types of investments.