Clarification of News Article

March 13, 1998 PSE CIRCULAR FOR BROKERS NO. 369-98 SUBJECT : Clarification of News Article In connection with a news article entitled "Go took out P5.8B from Orient Bank" published in the March 6, 1998 issue of Today, which reported that Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) has backed out of the purchase in the wake of recent findings, RCBC informed the Exchange in a letter dated March 12, 1998 that it has not officially backed out from its bid to acquire Orient Bank. According of RCBC, "it is still awaiting word from PDIC if they will clean up the balance of sheet and take out all the bad/Dosri loans as contained in RCBC's bid/proposal. To date, RCBC has not received any official advice on the matter from PDIC nor from the Monetary Board. However, based on the statements made by Mr. Leung, President of PDIC, at the meeting of the Monetary Board last week, it appears unlikely that PDIC will take out the bad/Dosri loans of Orient Bank." For your information. (SGD.) MARIA ISABEL T. GARCIA Head, Listings & Disclosures Group