Yao bank raising funds

Yao group-led thrift bank Philippine Business Bank plans to raise fresh funds to cover robust loan expansion by selling around P5 billion worth of high-yielding deposits and selling fresh equity to existing shareholders or a prospective partner.

PBB aims to return to the P1-billion net profit within the next two years by boosting lending to underserved segments, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the countryside.

In an interview after the bank’s stockholders’ meeting on Friday, PBB president Roland Avante said: “We’re in the drawing board in terms of capital raising, maybe a combination of [infusion from] strategic partner or capital call.”

It was earlier reported that the company’s controlling shareholders were in talks with Taiwanese investors as prospective partners in PBB.

This year, the savings bank expects its total resources to breach the P100-billion mark from P87.3 billion last year.

Given the bank’s target to sustain a double-digit loan growth this year and to build up its portfolio of marketable securities to comply with the minimum liquidity ratios, Avante said the bank would most probably cross the P100-billion balance sheet milestone this 2018.

In the second half of the year, Avante said PBB would likely issue around P5 billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits (LTNCDs) to support loan expansion.