Urban Bank provides free e-mail service to PSE

Urban Bank signed Wednesday night a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) for the free use by the PSE of a secured electronic messaging service provided by the bank.

Under the agreement, Urban Bank will set up a secured 24-hour e-mail facility for the exclusive use of the PSE board of governors and key officers, all member-brokers, and all listed companies. The facility is capable of secured messaging with the use of digital certificates and data encryption. In this regard, the PSE governors will be given digital certificates and encryption capability so that no one, including the administrator, will be able to decode messages between and among the governors.

"This is in response to our need for technological advancement not only in terms of stock trading but also in e-commerce," said Urban Bank president and chief executive Teodoro Borlongan.

PSE chairman Felipe Yap expressed appreciation to Urban Bank management "for helping strengthen the PSE's technological capability so we can provide a more efficient service to our investing public."

The PSE member-firms and listed companies will be given corporate e-mail addresses, while the Governors and the key officers will be assigned personal e-mail addresses.

The e-mail and Internet services are accessible through remote dial-up facilities consisting of 16 telephone lines divided into two trunk groups for ease of access.

Urban Bank provides value-added information technology services to its select clients and, as a public service, to promote a more secure and efficient mode of communication, information and data exchange. The bank is an accredited investment and depository bank and has been provided support by the PSE in the setting up of infrastructure and trading procedures of its mortgage-backed securities program. One of Urban Bank's strengths is in mortgage banking and securitization.

The MOA was signed by Urban Bank president and chief executive Teodoro Borlongan and, on behalf of the PSE, governors Ramon T. Garcia and Francisco Villaroman.