2022

  • PDTC launches the Proof-of-Concept (POC) Digital Registry and Digital Depository using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
  • PDTC migrates to new Equity Depository System called “BaNCS v6″.
  • PDEx celebrates the issuance and listing of the country’s 1st Digital Bond utilizing the POC Digital Registry and Digital Depository; 2nd in ASEAN.
  • PDEx commences its Audit Program after approval of the SEC.
  • PSSC merges into PDEx in a move to simplify the legal entity structure and enhance the capital strength of the group.
  • PDS Academy launches its first set of Webinar Series featuring audiences from the financial market and the youth with the goal to expose our young investors to the capital market, and the role of  the different key players in the capital market.

2021

  • PDS Group launches the e-Securities Issue Portal (e-SIP), a platform that is configured for continual enhancement of features to further streamline, facilitate and ease pain points on issuance and distribution activities of stakeholders. It is a web-based application that employs digital and paperless system, a greener way of providing easy access to more Issuers to the local debt market and helping to reach more investors.
  •  Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) pioneers the use of the  e-Securities Issue Portal (e-SIP) for its issuance of its Fixed Rate Bonds.
  • PDS Group participates in ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum and Singapore FinTech Week.
  • PDEx resumes US Dollar Fixed Income DvP (USD FI DVP) Settlement service for USD-denominated government securities.
  • PDEx celebrates the maiden listing of  the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) 5Y and 10Y Retail Dollar Bonds.
  • PDEx welcomes maiden issuers in the Fixed Income Market: PHINMA Corporation (PHN), D&L Industries, Inc. (DNL), AREIT, Inc. (AREIT)
  • PDEx partners with the SEC Communication Advocacy & Network (SEC CAN).
  • PDEx obtains the SEC approvals for e-SIP Operating Guidelines & Registry Rules for Electronic Submission.
  • PDTC Depository establishes its Collateral Safekeeping Services, with two new Depository Participants.

2020

  • PDS Group begins developing the e-Securities Issue Portal (e-SIP).
  • PDS Group adapts flexible work arrangement.
  • PDEx introduces a new bond structure: Amortizing Bonds for use among the domestic issuers and investors. The amortizing bond structures have been customized to adapt to Philippine market’s specific requirements  (e.g., adjustments due to tax) and then ported over to the PDEx Trading System, Bloomberg FIQ. This structure was also made available for trading and listing in the PDEx Fixed Income Market.
  • PDEx welcomes maiden issuers in the Fixed Income Market: Arthaland Corporation (ALCO), Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corporation (TECH), San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. (SMFB), Bank of Commerce (BOC), Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI).
  • PDEx celebrates the maiden listing of  the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
  • PDEx celebrates the first listed ASEAN Social Bond: BPI’s COVID Action Response (“CARE” Bonds).
  • PDTC extends its Name-on-Central-Depository (NoCD) Facility to service the country’s first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) issuance, pioneered by Ayala Land, Inc.
  • PDEx holds first virtual listing ceremony with Ayala Land Inc. (ALI)
  • PDS Group supports PGH  Medical Foundation and Ateneo Scholarship Foundation (ASF) Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. Scholarship Fund.

2019

  • PDEx obtains the SEC approvals for Floating Rate Bond (FRB) Trading and Settlement Guidelines. . The SEC also approves an Addendum to the Guidelines for Listing or Enrolment of Bank-Issued Bonds and Commercial Paper, which further streamlined the documentary requirements for follow-on tranches of bank bonds issued under a program. This effectively created a domestic equivalent of Medium Term Note programs used globally by bank issuers, and will support further issuances from the financial sector
  • Local debt market celebrates the first listing of Bank Bond Program.
  • PDTC initiates to standardize and digitalize Application to Purchase (ATP) form. The primary goal of this was to create a single “look and feel” of the form to facilitate investor familiarity with the document and procedures to access fixed income instruments at the Initial Public Offering (IPO) stage and eventually pave the way for the digitization of the entire fixed income IPO process.
  • PDTC pilots the digital paperless ATP transactions and submissions.
  • PDS Group transfers main office from The Enterprise Center to BDO Equitable Tower and the secondary date center therein to a co-location site. These technological and logistical transitions were aimed at optimizing costs which the Group already started to enjoy in the second half of 2019.

2018

  • The PDS Group launches a new PDEx Trading System, the Bloomberg FIQ. The shift to a new trading system allows Fixed Income Community to capitalize on Bloomberg’s strength in fixed income markets and increase awareness of PHP-denominated government securities and corporate bonds among global fixed income market professionals. The Bloomberg FIQ is primarily directed to the Fixed Income (FI) community of traders and salesmen and delivers new functionalities as follows:
    • Streamlining of trade input process
    • Trade ticket field where tax rate of a trade can be changed.
    • Request for Quote wherein Trading Participant may request a one-way or two-way quote from any other Dealing Participant/s.
    • Trading Participants’ access to the different transactions methods: Order Book, Request for Quotes, and Trade Input  (Direct and Voice Trade Input)
  • PDEx obtains the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval on the proposed revisions on the PDEx Rules which are aligned with the new features and specifications of the new trading platform, Bloomberg FIQ.
  • PDTC upgrades its FI Registry System Operating.
  • Outstanding Bonds listed on PDEx and registered in PDTC exceeds PhP1 Trillion.
  • The BAP engages PDEx to be its Benchmark Publication Agent to publish the PHP BVAL Reference Rates – Benchmark Tenors, PHP BVAL Rates Government Securities (Bills), and PHP BVAL Rates Government Securities (Bonds) once daily at 5:00 PM on the PDS MarketPage and PDS website.
  • Through its “Blessed to Bless” CSR Project, the PDS Group reached out to the Baseco Compound, formerly known as “Smokey Mountain” in Balut, Tondo.

2017

  • PDEx Issuer Services Program reaches new record high for the largest amount of new listings in a year, bringing the total volume of new bonds listed to PhP207.43 Billion. There are 29 listings in 2017 from seven new and 16 returning Issuers.
  • Local debt market celebrates the first enrollment of a corporate security in PDEx with Ayala Land’s Short-Dated Notes Due 2019 specifically targeted for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) in the PDEx platform.
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves the PDEx Enrollment Framework, covering the enrollment, trading, and settlement of enrolled securities in PDEx. This enables the admission for more securities intended for the community of QIBs.
  • The Bureau of Treasury, the Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Money Market Association of the Philippines partner in developing the Repo Market Program to further enhance the secondary market liquidity in the government bond market.
  • PDEx obtains the SEC approval on the proposed revisions on the convention for trading during the two-day closed period for corporate securities.
  • The PDEx Market Governance Board approves the submission to the SEC of the following proposed amendments to the PDEx Rules:
    • Proposed Revisions on Transactions Not Presumed to be Manipulative or Prohibited Conduct
    • Proposed Amendments on Enrollment of Securities Issued Under ASEAN+3 Multi-Currency Bond Issuance Framework (AMBIF)
    • Proposed Amendments on Voice Broker Responsibility for Switch Transactions Further to the Transactions Not Presumed to be Manipulative or Prohibited Conduct
  • As an active Participant in the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Forum, PDEx proposes rules to recognize the ASEAN+3 Multi-Currency Bond Issuance Framework in the local context.
  • PDS Group Technology Team continues to strengthen the organization’s resiliency and security by conducting the following activities:
    • Completion of the Disaster Recovery Site testing involving intraday scenario and market wide testing of connectivity
    • Completion and approval of the IT Software Development Life Cycle and IT PM Policy and Framework Documents
    • Continuous hardening of firewall and servers to ensure peak performance of all the infrastructure components supporting IT Production
    • Completion of the first phase of Systems Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing
  • PDS Group launches the upgraded PDEx Trading System, X-stream version 4.
  • PDS Group launches the Associated Person (AP) Workstation to make AP’s market transactions more efficient.
  • PDS Group launches the updated Rate Reasonability Facility, a filter system that analyzes movements in yield to alert for potential errors in trade execution.
  • PDTC implements the Name-on-Central-Depository (NoCD) for Equity Dollar and Peso Denominated Securities.
  • PDS Group welcomes seven new participants, bringing the total number of PDS market community participants to 531.
  • PDS Group hosts a briefing on the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) in partnership with the National Privacy Commission.

2016

  • PDEx revises the FI settlement rules, establishing a form of “safe harbor” for identifiable market making activities.
  • PDEx streamlines the listing process, rules and guidelines of Shelf-Registered Securities to accommodate new issuances such as Bonds issued by Non-Resident Issuers under the ASEAN+3 Multi- Currency Bond Issuance Framework (AMBIF) and Bonds restricted to Qualified Investors.
  • PDEx establishes listing rules for project bonds in line with the Government’s commitment to the country’s “golden age of infrastructure”.
  • Broker Name on Central Depository (NoCD) framework was expanded for Fixed Income and Equity asset classes, and enhanced to accept both types of assets in Foreign Currency and Local Currency denominations from offshore and onshore holders.
  • In preparation for the expansion of asset classes serviced, the Registry has been involved in discussions with prospective Issuers with respect to transactional documentation and revisiting the existing Registry and Paying Agency Agreement to suit Mutual Funds.
  • The Registry services a new type of security akin to a Bond with an American Put Option – the Homestarter Bonds
  • PDS maintains an active presence in the ADB ASEAN Bond Market Forum, contributing to the Philippine Bond Market Guide and finalizing the Report of the ABMF SRO Working Group
  • PDS Groups conducts infrastructure upgrades:
    • Trading System upgrade with ongoing acceptance testing process
    • FX Trading System upgrade for capturing FX trades from Reuters across the FX spot, swap, and forwards, and retaining the transactions in a trade repository.
    • Fixed Income (FI) Depository upgrade for improved system availability, improved disaster recovery points, and faster system performance.
    • PDTC’s Equity Depository system enhancement to support PSE’s Securities Borrowing and Lending (SBL) program
    • Completion and internal testing of Disaster Recovery (DR) Site for System Resiliency and Security
    • Strengthened cyber security defenses with Anti-Distributed Denial of Service (Anti-DDoS) and Web Application Firewall services

2015

  • The Non-Restricted Trading and Settlement (NRTS) of Coupon-Bearing Peso-Denominated Government Securities (GS) NRTS, a key project of the Department of Finance and Bureau of the Treasury, was launched to allow trading of GS across tax categories.
  • The PDS Group and Bond Pricing Agency Malaysia (BPAM) enter into an agreement to make available their bond pricing and information services through a link to each other’s websites. This is the first collaboration between the Philippines and Malaysia to further promote and support the bond markets of the region.
  • PDS hosts a market briefing on the amended 2015 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Securities Regulation Code. SEC Director Vicente Graciano P. Felizmenio, Jr. discussed the salient provisions on the new IRR.
  • PDS completes primary site redundancy for all systems from trading to clearing to settlement.
  • PDS conducts PDSConnect Live Disaster Recovery (DR) Exercise, covering the community of FX subscribers, FI Trading Participants, PvP Participants, and PDDTS Participants.
  • PDEx FX community executes the first deals in the PDS Integrated FX Spot Market Infrastructure, a joint initiative of PDS Group and Thomson Reuters, delivering enhanced products and services to members of the PDS FX Community.
  • The Trading and Settlement Guidelines for Corporate Bond (except for bank-issued instruments) holders subject to 25%/30% FWT categories were completed and submitted to the SEC.
  • The PDEx X-stream Trading System was enhanced to support the updated benchmark security selections and streamlined market maker entry screens in line with the revised PDST-R methodology.
  • PDEx launches the third version of the MarketPage to further improve data publication platform and to provide an enhanced user experience to PDEx Members.
  • The calculation methodology for the PDST-R1 and PDST-R2 was revised to comply with the provisions of BSP Circular 813.
  • The BIR determines that the new functionality of the CAAC system is capable of computing interest and appropriate withholding taxes arising from transfers, including pre-termination of LTNCTDs across tax categories (i.e. tax-exempts, taxable, and mixed/ combinations), taking into account the corresponding holding and maturity periods.
  • Firs Metro Investment Corporation organizes a Bond Trading Challenge among college students in partnership with the PDS Group, Thomson Reuters, Bureau of the Treasury, and Money Market Association of the Philippines. It aims to teach young students the importance and value of understanding the rudiments of fixed income trading.

2014

  • PDS supports BTr’s launch of Broker Recognition for Foreign Currency Denominated Government Securities (ODBs and MRTBs) in the Registry
  • PDEx expands the instruments available for trading to include Short-Term Commercial Paper (STCP).
  • PDEx launches an interim program for the listing of Bank-Issued Instruments, particularly the Long-Term Negotiable Certificates of Time Deposit (LTNCTDs).
  • PDEx admits five additional firms as PDEx FI Brokering Participants, increasing the total number of PDEx members participants to 32.
  • PDEx and PDTC support the BTr’s market-wide preparation for the Non-Restricted Trading and Settlement (NRTS) of Coupon Bearing (Peso) Government Securities (GS) under Department Order 68-2014 and Treasury Circular 04-2014.
  • Listing for Corporate Securities and the Registry and Paying Agency Business record an all-time high of PhP 191.85 Billion and PhP 545 Billion respectively.
  • RMB Transfer Service (RTS) pioneer banks execute the Philippine’s historic first Renminbi transfers in the PDS System, formally announcing the live and start of operations of the service.
  • PDDTS-PvP in eCS version 2 upgrades to version 6.
  • New applications were developed and brought to production in support of the trading and settlement of both PHP-RMB and LTNCD and the Integrated FX Spot Market.

2013

  • PDS launches PDSConnect, a high-bandwidth low-latency infrastructure that provides high-speed unlimited market access across the nation and borderless market reach via internet.
  • PDS Group unveils its website, exhibiting a fresh look, extensive information on products and services, and comprehensive and organized access to market data and announcements.
  • Ayala Land, Inc. lists in PDEx the 20-year corporate bond, the first listed corporate issue with the longest tenor to date.
  • Manila Electric Company and the first listed corporate bond with both put and call options are listed in PDEx by and Meralco respectively.
  • The market heralds the very first Philippine government security to be issued and listed in PDEx under an investment grade banner.
  • PDS launches Investor Direct, a secured, front-end facility of the PDS Group’s Registry System, where intermediaries in the primary market can submit their Sales Reports and accompanying documents directly from their workstations. Investor Director also has maker-checker and authorization control features for safer and more streamlined enrolment processes.
  • PDS launches PDSClear, the new PDS clearing system that promises the flexibility to service different markets by allowing alternative clearing modes across different asset classes and currencies.
  • The Bank of China Limited, Manila Branch (BOC-MNL) and the PDS Group ink agreements, activating the Domestic Renminbi (RMB) Transfer Service in the Philippines.

2012

  • PDS hosts the first ever ASEAN+3 SRO Working Group Meeting in the Philippines. The assembly of ASEAN+3 SROs resolve to undertake collaborative efforts to develop ASEAN+3 Intra-Regional Bond Markets.
  • PDS Group seals agreement to use NASDAQ OMX’s Securities Market Automated Research Training and Surveillance (SMARTS) to bring the SRO’s surveillance and regulatory tools to global standards.
  • Listing of Bahay Bonds II PhP 300 Million Five-Year Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities due 2017 marks the first ever securitized issue to be listed in PDEx.
  • PDEx celebrates the listing of USD 500 Million 2.75% Onshore Dollar Bonds due 2023 issued through the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), onshore issues created to mimic pricing, liquidity and tax features of Republic of the Philippines (RoP) Global Bonds.

2011

  • PDS and Thomson Reuters sign a Strategic Cooperation Agreement to ready the marketplace for the next level of products, laying the groundwork for efficient platforms for the PDS FX Community.
  • PDS offers its Members unlimited access to the marketplace – all access systems provided free of charge. This lifted access barriers and enabled PDS community to come to the central marketplace with ease.
  • PDS joins the Bureau of Treasury in promoting investment in government securities through road shows of the BTr’s Retail Treasury Bonds around key cities of Baguio, Davao, Angeles City, Cebu, Metro Manila, Laoag and Iloilo City.
  • The newest member of the PDS Group is formed, the PDS Academy for Market Development or PDS Academy. It is a non-stock, non-profit corporation that embodies a further segregation of the regulatory function of the PDS Group from its corporate purpose and is envisioned to roll out knowledge and learning facilities in the coming year.
  • Ayala Corporation (AC) lists a multiple put bond issue, a first of its kind issue in domestic and foreign debt markets.
  • PDEx ends the year with the listing of First Metro Investment Corporation (FMIC) Fixed Rate Corporate Bond, the first principal-covered corporate bond issue and first listing by an investment house.
  • PDTC enhances its Depository and Registry with the Corporate Action Auto-Claim Service (CAAC), a corporate action system that enables the tracking of each investor’s purchase and holding history for coupon-bearing instruments and the calculation of taxes accruing to each such investor irrespective of tax status. The CAAC can handle multiple currencies and multiple tax rates.

2010

  • PDEx celebrates several maiden listings:
    • USD-Denominated Government Security, the 3 and 5-Year US Dollar tranches of the Multi-Currency Retail Treasury Bond (MRTB) are issued through the Bureau of the Treasury under a “non-restricted
    • framework”, wherein trading and transfers of these securities between holders of different tax categories can occur.
    • Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) lists Fixed Rate Retail Bonds with a credit enhancement feature
    • Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) lists Long-Term Negotiable Certificates of Time Deposit
    • Ayala Corporation (AC) lists a putable bond issue
  • A new corporate action capability tracking holding periods of bondholders is launched allowing transfers of securities among tax-withheld investors and tax-exempt investors to occur in the secondary market.
  • PDTC is appointed Registrar of first structure of its kind in the PHP-denominated bond market, the Ayala Corporation PhP10 Billion Putable Bonds.

2009

  • PDS Group mobilizes significant technology enhancements into its service environment to utilize state of the art technology and increase robustness of its infrastructure.
  • PDEx launches the Fixed Income Broker Internet Order System (FI-BIOS), its internet-based access platform. This enables trading activity outside the metropolis to reach the infrastructure in real time and nationwide capacity for information dissemination at par with the market center.
  • The IP Repo Program goes into full swing.
  • PDEx welcomes its first Qualified Investor Participants into the fixed income market.
  • PDEx expands its Issuer Community with the entry of the first bank issue, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company Unsecured Subordinated Notes due 2017, 2018, 2019 and lists more corporate debt for trading, closing the year with a level of over PhP 100 Billion in listed private debt.
  • PDTC experiences remarkable growth in its Registry Business, with almost PhP 200 billion in assets and 33,925 Registry accountholders preparing these issues for corporate listing in the debt market.
  • PDTC receives a CAMELS “4” rating from the BSP.
  • PDTC maintains its “A” rating from Thomas Murray, an international rating agency for financial market infrastructure.

2008

  • The BSP officially interposes “no objection” to the participation of its regulated entities in the PDEx Inter-Professional Repurchase Agreement (Repo) Market Program.
  • The SEC grants approvals mobilizing the public market structure, including: the public market rules and expansion of SRO and clearing authorities to cover the public market. SEC recognizes PDEx’ Over-the-Counter market and grants PDEx Central Trade Reporting System Authority.
  • PDEx launches a Dealer-to-Qualified Investor (QI) Trade Facility to capture trades of Dealing Participants with Qualified Investors who are non-PDEx Trading Participants.
  • PDEx launches its Inter-Professional Repurchase Agreement (REPO) Program.
  • Listing of Ayala Corp. Fixed Rate Bonds due 2012 and Ayala Land Inc. Fixed Rate Bonds due 2013 on PDEx mark the first ever listings of corporate debt on an organized market, making these issues accessible to public investors.
  • The BAP Inter-Bank Call Loan Market is launched.
  • BSP confirms that securities delivery to the depository is compliant with Circular 392.
  • PSSC launches the STP facility for the settlement of PDEx Foreign Exchange (FX) Spot trades in the PSSC Payment-versus-Payment system.

2007

  • Memorandum of Agreement among the BSP, PDS Group, and BAP is signed connecting PDS Settlement Highway and BSP PhilPass, making real-time payments and fund transfers available to non-banks and the public.
  • PDS launches its Registry Direct service to enable transfers from RoSS to the Depository and other RoSS accounts.
  • The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) increases its investment in PDS Holdings Corp. to 20% as a strategic shareholder.
  • The Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) signs an agreement for a 20% stake in PDS as a strategic shareholder.
  • PDEx expands its Trading Community to include the Inter-Professional Market, with expanded Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) and clearing authority.
  • PDEx commences operation of its expanded Delivery versus Payment (eDvP) Service, to enable DvP settlement to its expanded fixed income community.
  • The first corporate bond, the Ayala Corporation (AC) Fixed Rate Bonds due 2012 – is enrolled for trading in the PDEx Inter-Professional Market.
  • The SEC approves the PDEx Inter-Professional Repurchase Agreement (REPO) Market Program Rules.
  • PDTC obtains its lending agency license from the SEC for the debt market.

2006

  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves PDEx’s application to act as a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) for the Inter-Dealer Market.
  • Two agreements, the PDEx-RoSS Straight Through Process “STP” Facility Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between BTr and PDS; and the Delivery versus Payment “DvP” MoA between BTr, PDS, and BSP for the settlement of inter-dealer GS trades are signed enabling Straight Through Processing of PDEx Government Securities transactions into the clearing and settlement system.
  • The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) appoints PDEx as SRO-Calculating Agent for PDS Treasury Reference Rates.
  • PDEx launches the Foreign Exchange Trading Platform.
  • PDEx ties up with Thomson Reuters, for global distribution of PDEx market data.
  • PDTC launches the Name-on-Central Depository (NoCD) Service.
  • The SEC approves the PDEx Securities Lending Transactions (SLT) Program Rules.

2005

  • PDS moves to its new offices at the Enterprise Center.
  • PDS and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) sign a Memorandum of Agreement on December 8, 2005, creating the market’s direction to the government’s Registry of Scripless Securities (RoSS) and ushering in the era of strong collaboration between BTr and PDS to foster the development of the GS secondary market.
  • PDEx opens the Inter-Dealer market in a quote driven environment, to be complemented by the order-driven environment later in the year.