Treasury reports strong demand for 5-year RTBs

The government sold P235.935 billion in five-year retail treasury bonds (RTBs) given strong demand from small investors and its availability online.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon yesterday said the Bureau of the Treasury and its selling agents received “huge offers” during the offer period of Feb. 26 to March 8.

The debt paper maturing on March 12, 2024 had a coupon rate of 6.25 percent, higher than the 4.625 percent yield of five-year RTBs sold in December 2017.

However, de Leon said the awarded amount did not exceed the record P255.4 billion in RTBs issued two years ago.

The government’s 22nd RTBs sale marked the first time investors were able to buy online through their accounts with state-run lenders Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Land Bank of the Philippines.

De Leon had said that moving forward, the Treasury was looking to require all selling agents to have an online platform to make RTBs more accessible, especially to overseas Filipino workers.

During the rate-setting auction on Feb. 26, the Treasury had awarded an initial P113.772 billion as tenders reached P121.807 billion.

This was the Duterte administration’s fifth RTB sale during its first three years in office, as the government wanted to borrow more to partly finance the massive infrastructure projects under the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program.

In June last year, the government issued P121.8 billion in three-year RTBs at 4.875 percent.

In April 2017, the Treasury sold P181 billion in three-year RTBs at a coupon of 4.25 percent.

In September 2016, the Treasury issued P100 billion in 10-year RTBs at a 3.5-percent yield.

For this RTB sale, DBP and Landbank were joint lead issue managers.