Treasury issues P130-B RTBs at 4.625%

Rosalia de Leon (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

The Bureau of the Treasury on Monday issued P130 billion in retail treasury bonds (RTBs) at a coupon of 4.625 percent, with more expected to be sold in minimum denominations of P5,000 to small investors until Nov. 29.

At the rate-setting auction for the government’s 20th RTB issuance, the Treasury said in a statement that there was “tremendous market demand” for the five-year IOUs as tenders for the initial P30-billion offering totaled P191.8 billion.

“For the 20th offering of retail treasury bonds, we are taking advantage of the added liquidity in the market leading up to the Christmas season. We also know that many Filipinos will have a ‘spend’ mindset during these times, so we want to present them with an investment option that will have multiple returns to them. The best gift that Filipinos could give to themselves or their loved ones is financial stability, and by investing in retail treasury bonds, they are opening up more economic opportunities for themselves and their families, enabling themselves to rely beyond a single source of income,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said.

Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. confirmed on the sidelines of the 11th ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Award ceremony that the Treasury will launch the repo on Nov. 27 after the Securities and Exchange Commission last week approved an accredited self-regulatory organization, a private group that will oversee the repo rollout.

A repo, short for repurchase agreement, allows a dealer to sell and repurchase short-term government securities such as treasury bills to a lender at a specified future date and an agreed price. Repos are said to provide lenders low risk and are usually used to raise short-term capital. /je