Treasury raises P2.47B from reissued T-bonds

The Bureau of the Treasury has raised another P2.47 billion from its tap facility window on Tuesday, although demand fell short of the offering.

The reissued seven-year treasury bonds fetched only P2.474 billion in bids from the 10 “market makers” among government securities eligible dealers (GSEDs).

The Treasury offered a minimum of P15 billion after it fully awarded the same volume during the preceding T-bonds auction also on Tuesday.

The IOUs maturing on April 12, 2025, were issued at an annual rate of 7.09 percent.

It was the fourth consecutive week that the Treasury opened the tap facility after the weekly T-bond auctions.

During the three previous tap issuances, the Treasury raised an additional P53.1 billion.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon had said that investors were flocking to the recent treasury bond auctions as they wanted to lock in rates on expectations that yields of government securities with longer tenors will decline next year.

Under the recently issued guidelines, the tap facility was no longer capped with the same volume of debt paper offered that day, allowing the Treasury to determine the amount it will issue depending on its discretion.

The over-the-counter facility is usually tapped when the Treasury decides to sell more securities to meet excess demand. The facility also allows the government to raise additional funds when money generated from regular auctions falls below targets.—BEN O. DE VERA