RCBC sets $300-M bond offering

Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is returning to the offshore bond market with a fresh offering of at least $300 million worth of three-year debt notes.

The indicative price for the offshore bond is between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent annually for a three-year tenor, said a banking source familiar with the offering.

This is a fresh drawdown from its $2-billion medium-term notes (MTN) program.

The last time RCBC drew down from the MTN program was last year with an issuance of $300 million worth of five-year debt notes.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, RCBC said it had tapped Citi, Standard Chartered and UBS to arrange the offering.

Since last year, some of the country’s big banks have turned to the offshore debt market to fund their fast-growing loan books as domestic capital markets tightened with large stock rights offerings of peer banks.

According to RCBC, it does not see foreign exchange risks rising with the issuance of offshore debt as this can be matched with its foreign currency deposit unit book.

MTN is a medium-term, flexible debt program that allows issuers to tailor fit their debt issuance to their financing needs.

RCBC’s debt notes will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA