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June 18, 2024 TO : All Clearing Banks/Institutions RE : NEW CLEARING PARTICIPANTS/BRSTN REGISTER UPDATES 1. With reference to various request letters/notices received from the clearing participant banks , we enumerate hereunder the following updates to the PCHC clearing participant banks/BRSTN Register and Operating Parameter, viz: 1.1 New Clearing Participants BANK/BRANCH BRSTN ADDRESS LBP - Kibawe Branch Lite 51035-006-2 Sayre Highway, Brgy. Palma, Kibawe, Bukidnon BDO - Makati - Century City Mall 01053-704-2 L111, L113C & L110, G/F, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue cor. Kalayaan Loop Road, Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City Top Bank - Guiguinto Business Center 13145-004-0 G/F NDW Plaza, T12 Compound, Brgy. Tabang, Guiguinto, Bulacan RBA - San Mateo 01202-001-0 688 General Luna St., Maly, San Mateo, Rizal RBA - Binangonan 01202-002-3 National Road Calumpang Binangonan, Rizal RBA - Head Office 06202-001-5 RBA Bldg. Along Mac Arthur Highway, Brgy. San Vicente, Apalit, Pampanga RBA - Pulilan 13202-001-3 National Road Brgy. Paltao, Pulilan, Bulacan 1.2 Relocation/Change in Branch Name and/or Address BRSTN BANK/BRANCH NAME FROM TO 41004-028-1 BPI CEPZA– Cavite City Ayala Malls Vermosa – Building-B Ground Floor Ayala Malls Vermosa, Daang Hari Rd. Cor. Vermosa Blvd., Pasong Buaya 1, Imus City, Cavite 4103 06026-017-8 Metro Balanga - Don M Balanga City Highway – Roman Banzon – Balanga City Highway, Tenejero, Balanga City 08026-002-2 Metro Iloilo - Guanco – Iloilo Iloilo Guanco - JM Basa – Ground Floor City Javelosa Bldg. JM Basa St. cor. Guanco St., Iloilo City 27035-001-4 LBP Cotabato – Cotabato Cotabato City – Landbank Building, SK City Pendatun Avenue Barangay Poblacion 5, Cotabato City, Maguindanao del Norte 01044-062-1 BOC Cainta – Cainta Rizal Antipolo – JMK Bldg. Circumferential Road Cor. P. Oliveros St. Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City Rizal 03082-001-4 Malayan–Davao Davao City Doors 1-5, Paseo de Roxas Commercial Complex, Roxas Avenue, Davao City 2. Pursuant to CICS OM No. 17-004 dated 18 January 2017, the aforementioned updates will be implemented effective June 18, 2024. 3. For your information and guidance.

Memo Circular No. 3817 June 14, 2024 T O      :              All Clearing Banks/Institutions R E        :              PARTICIPATION OF RURAL BANK OF APALIT IN CICS 1.      We are pleased to announce that Rural Bank of Apalit, Inc. (RBA) will start to participate in the nationwide Check Image Clearing System (CICS) operations as a Clearing Subscriber effective June 18, 2024. 2.      As communicated by the bank’s Clearing Head, Mr. Abel C. Zuniga on June 10, 2024,  the following branches will be participating, to wit: 3.      RBA Head Office is located at RBA Bldg. Along Mac Arthur Highway, Brgy. San Vicente, Apalit, Pampanga. 4.      Kindly disseminate to all your branches/offices and update as well your respective BRSTN Register accordingly.

May 10, 2024 TO : ALL CLEARING BANKS/INSITUTIONS RE : PCHC BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS FOR 2024-2025 ================================================================================== At the Regular Annual Stockholders' Meeting of the Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC) held on May 09, 2024, the following were unanimously elected DIRECTORS of the Corporation for the current term 2024-2025: NAME BANK/INSTITUTION NAME Joseph A. Gotuaco BDO Unibank, Inc. Elfren Antonio S. Sarte Bank of the Philippine Islands Reynaldo C. Burgos Philippine National Bank Rhoneil S. Fajardo Deutsche Bank Alan V. Bornas Land Bank of the Philippines Edwin R. Bautista BAP/Union Bank of the Philippines Emmanuel E. Barcena Philippine Clearing House Corporation Maria Corazon S. Remo Independent Director Dennis B. Velasquez  Independent Director Margarita B. Lopez Independent Director 11. Henry T. Pelaez Independent Director 2. At the Organizational Meeting held the same day, the following were elected OFFICERS of the Corporation for 2024-2025, viz: Edwin R. Bautista - Chairman Elfren Antonio S. Sarte - Vice Chairman Emmanuel E. Barcena - President & CEO Joseph A. Gotuaco - Treasurer Merlyn E. Dueñas - Corporate Secretary 3. For information and guidance.

May 09, 2024 T O      :              All Clearing Banks/Institutions R E        :              CLARIFICATION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW CHECK DESIGN 1.      We wish to issue clarifications in view of the numerous queries and complaints received by PCHC regarding the non-acceptance of Checks for deposit in the following conditions: A.1.      Checks where the issue date characters are indicated or printed outside of appropriate boxes: PCHC – they are acceptable, as mentioned in earlier advisories. A.2.     Checks  where the issue date characters representing the month and the date do not strictly conform with the required MM-DD  format, i.e. single digit  representing the month and/or date,  such as: 5 - 8 - 2024    or    5 - 8 - 2024      or    05 - 8 – 2024   5 - 08 - 2024 for May  8, 2024: PCHC – they are acceptable provided that the year of issue is in 4 digits (YYYY). A.2.1. Partition symbols (such as “/” or “ * ” or any other mark) should not appear between the numeric representation of the month and of the date and of  the year in the issue date of a Check; otherwise, the Check is unacceptable.  There is already a dash symbol ‘-’ separating the MM DD YYYY boxes. A.3.      Checks where the signature of the drawer/s goes beyond the borders of the signature box/es: PCHC - they are acceptable, likewise as indicated in earlier advisories. A.4. The guidelines stated above apply to all Checks deposited/presented for clearing, regardless of whether they are issued by individuals or by banks or other types of entities. B. OLD FORMAT CHECKS B.1.      Effective May 1, 2024, they are no longer acceptable for clearing, except - B.1.1. Checks issued by Banks (Manager’s Check, Cashier’s Check, Gift Check) provided - B.1.1.1. They bear the waiver statement (“I/We allow the electronic clearing of this check and hereby waive the presentation for payment of this original to . . . “), and B1.1.2.  the date of issue is in the numeric format (MM-DD-YYYY) if the Bank-issued Checks  are dated May 1, 2024 or thereafter (but in no case dated beyond the date of presentation of the Checks for deposit), or B.1.1.3.  the Bank-issued Checks are dated April 30, 2024 or earlier in which case the date of issue may be written  in alpha-numeric format. B.1.2.  Checks issued by an individual or an entity other than a Bank provided - B.1.2.1.  they were accepted/ stamped ‘Warehoused’ by a participant bank  prior to May 1, 2024; or B.1.2.2.  they bear or are printed with ‘PDC Unique Identification Code’ (PDC UIC) that indicates receipt by banks for warehousing  per section 16.2 of the CICS Rules and Regulations; or B.1.2.3.  they are dated April 30, 2024 or earlier (in which case the date of issue may be written purely in numeric or in alphanumeric format) and presented for deposit or encashment prior to the 180th day from date of issuance. B.2.  If the date of issue indicated on an Old Format Check is written in numeric format, the numeric format variant specified in item A.2 above applies but not the requirement for the year of issue to be in 4 digits, that is, the year of issue on Old Format Checks may be written in 2 digits only. C. BOTH NEW FORMAT AND OLD FORMAT CHECKS Checks where the Amount in Words includes symbols like: “+”, “++”, “+++”, “=”, ”==”, “===”, “*”, “**”, or “***” before and after, e.g., +++Five Thousand Only+++ - PCHC - they are acceptable; the added symbols before and after the amount in words are traditionally added by some issuers to prevent alteration. 2. Checks not acceptable for deposit/clearing with the implementation of the rules on Old Format and New Format Checks effective May 1, 2024, if presented for clearing (CICS), shall be returned by the Drawee Bank to the Presenting Bank using any of the following reasons where applicable: 2.1.      Return Reason “R” (Refer to Issuer: Old Format Check) – to return an Old Format Check that is not covered by the exemptions stated above This return may carry a penalty of Php1,000.00 per section 2.2 of MC No. 3743 dated February 14, 2023. 2.2.      Return Reason “A” (Out-of-date) – to return a Check where the issue date is invalid or non-existent (02-30- 2024), or the month or day or year is missing (i.e. 5-2024). 2.3.      Return Reason “E” (Inappropriate/incorrect date format) – to return a New Design Check  or an Old Format check where: 2.3.1.   the issue date is printed/written in a format not in conformity with the required MM-DD-YYYY date format or not in accordance with any of the acceptable numeric variants (as indicated in item A.2 above). The return reasons mentioned above shall be used by participant banks starting May 16, 2024 when updates to the Return Reason Table of the PBM are deployed. 3.      Please be guided accordingly.

PESONet MC No. 24-150 PDDTS MC No. 2024-103 PAS MC No. 2024-020 June 7, 2024 T O        :              All Clearing Banks/Institutions R E         :              NO CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT ON JUNE 17, 2024 1. With reference to Peso RTGS Advisory No. BPU-2024-028 dated June 06, 2024; PCHC clearing operations shall likewise be closed on June 17, 2024 in view of Proclamation No. 579 issued by Malacañang. 2.   Consequently, the processing cut-off for Morning Returns on June 14, 2024 shall also be extended until 8:00 AM of June 18, 2024. 3.   CICS and PESONet platforms shall remain accessible 24/7 to accept transmitted transactions for settlement on June 18, 2024 when PhilPaSSplus resumes its business operations. 4.   Meanwhile, PAS6 will remain open and accessible but other services such as PDDTS RTGS/PvP as well as PDDTS- EOD shall be closed. 5.      Please be guided accordingly.

June 5, 2024   TO          :              All   Clearing Participant Banks/Institutions RE          :              HANDLING AND DISPOSITION OF DUPLICATE ITEMS 1.   In Check clearing, a basic governing principle is that the Drawee Bank is  responsible for  determining whether a Check presented to it for payment is a duplicate or not.  Necessarily, for the protection of its interest, a Drawee Bank should see to it that a Check drawn against it is paid only once.  Thus, having a database/list of all checks that have already been paid/honored is a necessity for all participants in check clearing.   2.  To assist Drawee Banks in deciding on whether to pay or not Regular Clearing Items (RCI) presented to them for clearing, PCHC has tools or information sources that are available for their usage for the enhancement of their verification capability, to wit:    2.1.       MIS Reports generated by CICS, listing all duplicates detected   After the 4:30 PM cut-off, the following reports become available in   the respective banks’ primary PBM:   2.1.1.  Dup_Pre_YYYYMMDD__PHP_00.CSV  – list of outward duplicate checks presented for clearing in .csv format 2.1.2.  Dup_Rev_YYYYMMDD__PHP_00.CSV – list of inward duplicate checks in .csv format 2.1.3.  Dup_Txns_Presented_Reg-.PDF – list of outward duplicate checks presented for clearing in portable document format 2.1.4.  Dup_Txns_Received_Reg-.PDF  – list of inward duplicate checks in portable document format                2.2.       Web Portal   Each CICS participant has been provided with login credentials to access the CICS Database via a web portal. This portal allows banks to view the outward clearing items/ICLs successfully transmitted by the bank and the inward clearing items/ICLs received within the business day. Additionally, the web portal includes Item Inquiry functions  that enable banks to inquire on an item detected as duplicate CICS either as the Drawee Bank or the Presenting Bank. The web portal provides access to 1-year worth of data.    3.   With these tools at the disposal of participant banks, there appears no plausible reason for a Drawee Bank to fail in identifying duplicate items and paying a Check more than once.  However, the reality being that duplicate and counterfeit items do escape Banks’ attention at times both in over-the counter and in mobile deposits, this Memo provides the following guidelines:      3.1.  If a Check is paid more than once, the Drawee Bank bears the loss on the payments which means it has no right to seek reimbursement from the Presenting Bank/s on those payments, except:   3.1.1.  when only one Presenting Bank is involved in the payments in which case the Presenting Bank has to reimburse the Drawee Bank the amount/s of the second or more payments on the Check -  for breach by the Presenting Bank of its warranty under Sec. 16.3.c of the CICS Rules and Regulations (CICS RR); or   3.1.2.  when a payment  by the Drawee Bank on a Check  covers  a Counterfeit item  in which case the Presenting Bank of the Counterfeit Check shall be liable to reimburse the Drawee Bank for the full amount of the Counterfeit Check – for breach of its warranty under Sec. 16.3.e  of the CICS Rules and Regulations (CICS RR); provided, however, if the relevant Regular Clearing Item shows irregularity/ies on its MICR code line or other details that should be noticed by the Drawee Bank in the normal course of its verification, the Drawee Bank shall be entitled to claim for reimbursement for only 50% of the amount of the Counterfeit Check.   3.2.  The Drawee Bank is entitled to return the questioned paid Regular Clearing Item or   seek reimbursement from the Presenting Bank in the circumstances mentioned in items 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 above within 180 days from the latest Clearing Date of the Check claimed to have been presented for payment or paid more than once.   3.3.    The guidelines stated above apply regardless of whether the original of the Deposited Check/Physical Original Check in question is produced or not by the Presenting Bank.  Effective June 1, 2024, a Drawee Bank is not entitled to seek reimbursement from the Presenting Bank for the amount paid on a Deposited Check/Physical Original Check that is not produced when it is requested for in connection with the Drawee Bank’s Duplicate Payment claim.   3.4.   Notwithstanding the provision of item 3.3 above, a Presenting Bank which is unable to produce the Deposited Check/Physical Original Check when requested by the Drawee Bank within 180 days from its  Clearing Date shall be meted a penalty in the amount of Php1,000.00 payable to PCHC.   4.     Considering the changes in the detection and handling of Duplicate Items, the following guidelines:   OM No. 20-033 dated July 8, 2020  - Operating Guidelines to Guard Against Multiple Presentments of a Check and Rules to be Observed in the Settlement of a Multiple Presentments Claim of a Drawee Bank; and   OM No. 21-037 dated July 9, 2021  - Revised Rules of Settlement of a Multiple Presentments Claim of a Drawee Bank   are revoked effective on the date of this Operating Memo, OM No. 24-046.   5.    As the integrity of our check clearing system is built around mutual understanding, trust and cooperation among participant banks, we also encourage Presenting Banks to use the following platform  built by PCHC to further prevent duplicate/multiple presentation of already paid Checks from being sent for clearing, to wit:   5.1.      Decision Support Platform   This platform is a database made accessible to Presenting Banks to manually search via browser or through an API for automated processes. This database contains the data line (MICR Code Line).  By providing a clearing item’s serial number, BRSTN, and account number in the Platform’s search bar, a Presenting Bank may verify:   a)   whether an item presented for clearing has already been presented or previously negotiated through CICS; and/or   b)     whether the current presentment is a re-negotiated paid item or a duplicate presentment from a different presenting bank .    A search hit will return data line/s and information of the item’s presentment date/s as well as the presenting bank/s.   6.    Usage of the Decision Support Platform which is an additional layer of control shall soon be mandated to all participant banks offering mobile check deposit (MCD) facility to address the problem of presentation/payment of duplicate items.   Date of implementation shall be announced in a separate Memo.   In the meantime, banks offering MCD facility may get in touch with our TCMG to obtain the attendant API specification.   7.      Please be guided accordingly.

June 13, 2024   TO          :              All   Clearing Participant Banks/Institutions RE          :              PREVENTING MULTIPLE  PRESENTMENTS  OF CHECKS 1.  After consultation/discussion with the Board members of the Clearing Officers Club, Inc. (COCI) on the above captioned subject, we are now enjoining all participants offering Mobile Deposit Facility (MDF) to require their respective clients to write on the face of the Check to be deposited via MDF a Front Deposit Information (FDI) , consisting of  abbreviated name of the bank  and the Account number  to which the Check clearing proceeds are to be credited . The FDI shall be written   in the space between the Account Name and the Payee line as shown below:   2.    This supplementary control measure will be added to the requirements published/circularized in Memo Circular 3514 issued on February 19, 2019,  directing banks offering MDF to have their clients   write not only the account number  to which the proceeds of the Check will be credited but a Dorsal Deposit Information   (DDI)  as well. The DDI includes the Account Number  and the following information at the dorsal side of the Check, to wit:   2.1.       Name of the Bank   to which the deposit via MDF shall be made   2.2.       Date of Presentation/Clearing   2.3.       Signature/Endorsement of the Depositor/Payee   3.   As attempts to defraud are increasing, this added measure is expected to further mitigate presentation of previously negotiated/paid Checks as the FDIs and DDIs should alert Banks of possible earlier deposit/s of the Checks.   4.     To give ample time for banks offering MDF to cascade to their respective clients the need to write on each Check to be deposited via MDF an FDI (in addition to DDI), this additional requirement for mobile check deposit shall be implemented starting September 1, 2024 .  This means that starting on said date  –   4.1.  A Customer-generated Check Image must show both an FDI and a DDI; otherwise, they shall be refused acceptance.   4.2.   A Check bearing an FDI and DDI may be accepted by a Bank for an Over-the-Counter (OTC) deposit  provided said Bank is indicated in the FDI/DDI  and it is ascertained by said Bank that no prior presentment was made by it to, and no earlier payment on it was received by it from, the Drawee Bank.    5.    Multiple presentments of Checks for clearing necessarily result in receipt by the Drawee Banks of Duplicate clearing items. More controls therefore are needed to curtail duplicate/multiple presentments of Checks. Considering the risk of double/multiple presentments/payments of a Check, PCHC deems it necessary to require/mandate participant banks offering MDFs to  make use of the Decision Support Platform (DSP)  in their mobile deposit processing. This platform has been made available since September 18, 2023.     6.     The DSP is an additional layer of control that allows banks to validate whether a Check has been previously presented or has been marked for presentation by a member bank. The solution has been successfully piloted and is now being used by Union Bank in their MDF operation.   7.      As there is a need to develop APIs on the side of the banks offering MDF for automated access to the DSP, we are setting the cutover/implementation date for the compulsory use of the DSP to March 1, 2025.  In  the meantime, we strongly encourage banks offering MDF to obtain the API specs from PCHC’s technical team.    8.  We count on your full support and cooperation as PCHC continues to explore on finding means to assist its participating banks in preventing potential frauds.   9.    Please be guided accordingly.

June 03, 2024 TO : All Clearing Banks/Institutions RE : NEW CLEARING PARTICIPANTS/BRSTN REGISTER UPDATES 1. With reference to various request letters/notices received from the cl earing participant banks , we enumerate hereunder the following updates to the PCHC clearing participant banks/BRSTN Register and Operating Parameter, viz: 1.1. New Clearing Participants BANK/BRANCH BRSTN ADDRESS PNB - San Juan - West Crame 01008-307-5 GF, Unit 2, GG8 Building, 294 Santolan Road, Brgy. West Crame, San Juan City Asia United - Balanga, Bataan 06102-011-3 EBG Building, Dr. Anacleto Drive, Tenejero, Balanga City 2100, Bataan BDO NB - Bulacan - Puregold 13118-022-6 G/F, Commercial Unit No. 3, Puregold - Calumpit Bldg., Calumpit Pulilan Road, Brgy. Caniogan, Calumpit, Bulacan BDO NB - Albay - Pio Duran 16118-013-1 Pio Duran - Donsol Road, Brgy. 3, Pio Duran, Albay BDO NB - Isabela - San 26118-017-0 G/F, Commercial Bldg., Purok 2, Brgy. Centro 2, San Guillermo Guillermo, Isabela PSBC - Mapandan 05122-030-5 Pandan Ave., Brgy. Poblacion, Mapandan, Pangasinan PSBC - San Manuel, Tarlac 22122-012-2 Mc Arthur Highway, Sta. Maria, San Manuel, Tarlac CARD SME - Bacoor City 41141-006-9 Ground Flr., Ma. Salud Bldg., Aguinaldo Hiway, Panapaan VI, City of Bacoor, Cavite 1.2. Relocation/Change in Branch Name and/or Address BRSTN BANK/BRANCH NAME FROM TO 01004-094-0 BPI BF - Sucat Sucat Main 26004-002-0 BPI Isabela - Cauayan Cauayan Isabela – Pua’s Building, – Cauayan, Isabela Cabatuan Road San Fermin, Cauayan City, Isabela 3305 35004-001-1 BPI New City Mall Puerto Puerto Princesa San Pedro 01008-156-9 PNB QC - Quadrangle – Q.C. - West Avenue – 92 West Ave. Quezon City Philam, Quezon City, Metro Manila 70035-002-1 LBP – Sipalay Sipalay City Magtolis Street, Barangay 2, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental 01059-005-0 DBP Muntinlupa–Muntinlupa Alabang – Unit 101 Ground Floor, City Admiralty Realty Corp. 1101 Madrigal Business Park, Alabang - Zapote Road, Alabang, Muntinlupa City 01059-006-3 DBP Camp Aguinaldo – P. Tuazon – Ground Floor, Avire Quezon City Tower, P. Tuazon Boulevard, corner Lakandula Street, Marilag, Quezon City 1109 01121-009-6 BMI Retiro –Quezon City MF Mayon - Dapitan – 175 Mayon St. cor. Dapitan St., Quezon City 1.3. Change of Institution Name: BANK NEW NAME BANK CODE Country Builders Bank, Inc. Top Bank Philippines, Inc. (A Rural Bank) 145 1.4. Deletion of United Coconut Planters Bank (Bank Code = 029) from Check Image Clearing System(CICS) operations. 2. Pursuant to C ICS OM N o. 17-004 dated 18 January 2017, the aforementioned updates will be implemented effective June 03, 2024. 3. For your information and guidance.

June 3, 2024 T O     :            All Clearing Banks/Institutions R E     :             MORATORIUM ON NON-ACCEPTANCE OF CHECKS WITH NON-ESSENTIAL SYMBOLS OR MARKS OR DETAILS 1. After the issuance of Memo Circular No. 3811 dated May 14, 2024 extending the moratorium period for the non- acceptance of Checks with dates of issue written with partition symbols other than the dash “-“ mark to June 30, 2024, we have been receiving requests for its further extension  along with the appeal to include in the moratorium the matter of marks written after the ₱ sign or inside the amount boxes before or after the figures (e.g. ***500,000.00** or -500,000.00-). 2.  As indicated in our previous advisories/circulars (which we would like to emphasize with this issuance), the main reason for prescribing the New Check Design is to primarily standardize the way the dates, amounts in figures and other information are to be written on Checks so as to optimize the character recognition capability of processing systems and, ultimately, upgrade the entire clearing eco-system. 3.  We understand based on the presented justifications that one month might be too short to inform the respective clients to adhere to the standards. Thus, we are revising Memo Circular No. 3811, with additional guideline on the writing of the Check amount, so that - 3.1.  Checks with partition symbols other than the dash “-“ mark in between the figure representations of the month, date, and year of their  dates of issue;  and 3.2.   Checks with marks, characters or details before and after the amount in figures whether in Old Format or New Design Checks; remain acceptable until the last banking day of 2024. 4.      Effective January 02, 2025, therefore, the following rules apply: 4.1.  All Checks with symbols, marks or characters on them or in their dates of issue and/or in their amounts in figures shall not be acceptable for clearing. 4.2.  Bank-issued Checks (Manager’s Check, Cashier’s Check, Gift Check) which are in the “Old Format” remain acceptable provided – 4.2.1.  they bear the waiver statement (“I/We allow the electronic clearing of this check and hereby waive the presentation for payment of this original to . . . “), and 4.2.2.  the date of issue is in the numeric format (MM-DD-YYYY) if the Bank-issued Checks are dated May 1, 2024 or thereafter (but in no case dated beyond the date of presentation of the Checks for deposit), or 4.2.3.  the date of issue is either in numeric or in alpha-numeric format if the Bank-issued Checks are dated April 30, 2024 or earlier; and 4.2.4.  they are deposited within the respective validity periods indicated on the Checks if so specified on them. 4.3.   “Old Format Checks“ issued by an individual or an entity other than a bank remain  acceptable provided - 4.3.1.  they were accepted/stamped ‘Warehoused’ by a participant bank prior to May 1, 2024; or 4.3.2.  they bear or are printed with ‘PDC Unique Identification Code’ (PDC UIC) that indicates receipt by participant banks for warehousing per section 16.2 of the CICS Rules and Regulations. 5.   This means that the deployment of the Return Reason Code “E” to the banks’ PBM (Return Reason Code Table) shall be moved from July 1, 2024 to January 02, 2025 to give the participants banks sufficient time to inform and require compliance from their clients, the prescribed way of writing Checks to be acceptable for clearing. 6.     We have modified the description and usage of the soon-to-be deployed Return Reason Code “E”, to wit: 7.   A non-compliant Check inadvertently accepted by a depository bank for clearing shall be returned by the Drawee Bank to the Presenting/Sender Bank using the return reason cited above. 8. We are banking on your utmost support and cooperation particularly in the information dissemination/ awareness campaign/drive to all your branches/offices and their respective customers. 9. Please be guided accordingly.

May 20, 2024 T O      :              All Clearing Banks/Institutions R E        :              CHANGE IN CORPORATE NAME - COUNTRY BUILDERS BANK, INC. (A RURAL BANK) 1. We are informed in a letter dated May 17, 2024 of Mr. Ismael R. Sandig, President & CEO Country Builders Bank, Inc (A Rural Bank) that the bank’s change in corporate name to Top Bank Philippines, Inc. (A Rural Bank) has been approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).  This was further confirmed in BSP Circular Letter No. CL- 2024-024 dated May 14, 2024. 2.  Accordingly, Top Bank Philippines, Inc. will continue to honor issued checks bearing the old name (Country Builders Bank, Inc.) until December 31, 2025. 3.  The change in the bank’s corporate name will be included in our systems parameter updates effective June 1, 2024. 4.      Please be guided accordingly.