Security Bank to debut in offshore bond market

Security Bank Corp. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Security Bank Corp. plans to tap the international bond market in a bid to attract more foreign investors.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, Security Bank said it had mandated three foreign banks — ANZ, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan — to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in Manila, Singapore and Hong Kong starting on Nov. 18.

The disclosure said a “Reg S” US dollar senior fixed rate bond securities offering may follow subject to market conditions. The “Reg S” format means that the securities will be sold to global investors outside the United States.

“This is basically to widen our base of investors,” Security Bank president Alberto Villarosa said in an phone interview, adding that it would be the bank’s first time to tap into the offshore bond market. He said he could not disclose yet how much the bank would like to raise or how long the tenor of the securities will be.

Security Bank had a net profit of P6.43 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 54 percent from a year ago, joining a few local banks expected to post higher full-year earnings this year compared to last year. This translated to a return on equity of 20 percent while return on assets stood at 2.3 percent.

Net interest income increased by 37 percent year-on-year to P8.5 billion in the nine-month period.

Reflecting growth in its core business, Security Bank expanded its loan book by 25 percent year-on-year to P181 billion while deposits likewise rose by 26 percent to P232 billion in the nine-month period. For every peso of deposits generated, the bank lent out 78 centavos. The bank pursuing an aggressive program to expand its retail banking business.

Security Bank is among the eight largest private domestic universal banks in the Philippines with total assets of P366 billion, loan portfolio of P181 billion, and total capital at P47 billion as of end-September. It has a network of 254 branches and 468 automated teller machines.