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PDS Group Holds its 18th Awards Night to Celebrate 2022′s Top Performers
Posted on: April 11, 2023
31 March 2023, Makati, Philippines — The PDS Group staged the 2023 Annual Awards Night, its biggest event of the year, gathering market participants and stakeholders across different sectors of the financial market to celebrate the achievements of the capital market community.
“Breaking Through Challenges”, the theme for this year’s annual awards was embodied by this year’s winning participants. The PDS market participants have indeed remained steadfast despite yet another challenging year. A total of 46 awards, ranging from depository, custody, and settlement, to fixed income market categories were recognized during the awards ceremony.
The celebratory evening began with a message from the PDS Group President & CEO Ramon S. Monzon. In his welcome remarks, he said: “For us, the 18th PDS Annual Awards Night serves as a testament to the long years of hard work and perseverance of companies to succeed in the fields of depository, custody, settlement and fixed income. Acknowledging all the outstanding work and contributions of tonight’s awardees done to the industry is our way of showing appreciation to our stakeholders who continue to make things happen despite the continuing headwinds encountered by the financial markets in the last few years.”
“These successes have been made possible thanks to the men and women of PDS and all our stakeholders. I am confident that 2023 will be another remarkable year in terms of transactions and technology enhancements.”, added Mr. Monzon.
BSP’s Deputy Governor Hon. Chuchi G. Fonacier also graced the event and delivered a special message. She remarked: “We welcome the initiatives undertaken by the various industry associations and their members, in collaboration with infrastructure providers, to deepen the Philippine financial markets. Meanwhile, the BSP is committed to advancing capital market development through our support of various public and private sector projects and the issuance of enabling regulations for our supervised institutions.”
“You as capital market participants have an important role to play in this regard. Even as we celebrate the achievements of the past year tonight, we at the BSP encourage you to explore avenues to promote sustainable finance, and to continuously dedicate yourselves to providing more choices to the growing Philippine investor base.”, DG Fonacier further added.
After the depository, settlement, and custody awards were announced, the Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner McJill Bryant T. Fernandez then delivered his message. He remarked: “We have always known that financial markets do not exist in a vacuum. In good times, we look at financial markets for those impressive returns and its ability to raise funding for the productive sectors of our economy. In bad times, we look at financial markets to closely monitor and manage spillover risks. Whichever way we look at it, and regardless of the number of indicators used, I think that the success of financial markets must always take into account how it contributes to the economy and greater society. At its core, financial markets are there to enrich and empower the lives of our people.”
“And while this occasion looks back on what we have accomplished the previous year, may this also serve as a reminder of the bigger than itself role financial markets play in the economy and broader society, and put into perspective what the future might require from us. Through partnerships and meaningful collaborations, it is my earnest hope that we will continue to find innovative ways to enrich and empower the lives of our people.”, further Commissioner Fernandez.
Subsequent to the honoring of the Corporate Securities Awards was another special message for the evening from the Bureau of the Treasury Treasurer of the Philippines Rosalia V. De Leon. In her message, Hon. De Leon said: ” In the face of growing uncertainty and future challenges, the BTr and PDS should forge stronger partnerships by bolstering our support for the corporate pension and financial sector taxation reforms that will attract a broader and more diversified investor base and deepen the supply of capital in our financial system, vastly improving the efficiency and dependability of our domestic capital markets for more robust corporate and government financing.”
The main highlight of the evening was the awarding of the PDS Annual Awards’ highest honor, the Cesar E.A. Virata Award – Best Securities House for both the Bank and Investment House Categories. This Year’s Cesar E.A. Virata Awards were presented to Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company for the bank category and First Metro Investment Corporation for the Investment House Category.