BIR to audit banks' books on unit investment trust funds.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN In three months the Bureau of Internal Revenue will open the books of banks with trust portfolios, or unit investment trust funds (UITFs), to audit their transactions for tax liabilities. "By that time they would have had (enough) time to collect...

Trust Consciousness Week: Strengthening Foundations for Growth.
THE Trust Industry in the Philippines has seen strong and impressive growth in recent years. Most of its expansion is in Common Trust Funds which are sold to individuals. As the most available among the products and services of the Trust Industry, it has been the driving element in...

T-bond rate seen sustaining recovery.
Philippine treasury bonds are likely to sustain their recovery from the recent selloff, making any artificial liquidity support from the central bank unnecessary, according to a senior monetary official. Even so, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla said over the weekend that the monetary authority...

Gov't buys P1-B bonds to boost market.
The government bought as much as P1 billion in peso bonds this week to support the weak debt market, banking sources said yesterday. The Bureau of the Treasury headed by National Treasurer Omar Cruz may have bought between P500 million and P1 billion bonds -- mostly with...

Grepalife mutual funds gain market.
Byline: FIL C. SIONIL Grepalife Asset Management Corporation (GAMC), the mutual fund investment firm of Yuchengco Group of Companies headed by Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco, has slowly inched its way and marked its presence in the mutual fund market. This, GAMC General Manager, Efren Ll. Cruz...

Unit investment trust funds (UITF) are not protected products & investors can lose principal -- Tetangco.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said yesterday the reserved-free unit investment trust funds or UITFs are not protected products and investors can lose the principal. "UITF is not principal protected (that has) to be properly disclosed. It...

Trust fund oversight rules face review.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN To avoid confusion and finger pointing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to review existing regulations to determine which agencies have monitoring power over trust funds, especially trust funds held by trustee banks in behalf of pre-need...

Amex Bank plans expansion, call center.
Byline: FIL C. SIONIL American Express Bank of the Philippines (AMEX Bank) plans to expand its operations in the country in the medium term and plans to put up a call center here, possibly next year. In a press conference during the launch of its...

BSP cautions investors on risks involving UITFs.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said investors of the reserve-free unit investment trust funds or UITFs, which replaced common trust funds, should be realistic and not to expect high returns all the time. Tetangco said UITFs are...

BSP tells Trust Officers to fully disclose to investors the risk involved in Unit Investment Trust Funds investments.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said investors of the reserve-free unit investment trust funds or UITFs, which replaced common trust funds, should be realistic and not to expect high returns all the time. Tetangco said UITFs are...