PSBank lists P6.3B maiden bond issue

In the photo are (L-R): First Metro Investment Corporation President Rabonni Francis Arjonillo, Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) Senior Vice President & Treasurer Perfecto Ramon Z. Dimayuga, Jr., PSBank President Jose Vicente L. Alde, PDS Group President Ma. Theresa B. Ravalo, Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil, Standard Chartered Bank Chief Executive Officer Lynette Ortiz, and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company Assistant Vice President Susan Q. Antiporda.

MANILA, Philippines — The Metrobank group’s thrift bank arm Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) has listed P6.3 billion of inaugural bond issue on the local fixed income platform, boosting its capability to grow its consumer loan portfolio.

This marks the first tranche of PSBank’s P40-billion funding program as the bank builds long-term funds to oil the expansion of its lending business and diversify its funding base.

The two-year peso fixed-rate bond issuance was priced at 5.6 percent per annum with quarterly interest payments. The bonds are now listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

PSBank president Jose Vicente Alde said: “We express gratitude to all our partners for making our first-ever bond issuance a success. We would also like to thank the investing public for their trust in the PSBank name, which has resulted in this overwhelming market reception. Indeed, it is a testament of confidence in our business initiatives, which we hope will continue to take the bank to a higher level of growth and share of market.”

The bond issuance was upsized from the original base offer of P3 billion given strong market demand.

“This issuance brought the year-to-date total of new listings on PDEx to P234.14 billion and the total tradable corporate debt instruments listed on this platform to P1.23 trillion, marking a 17-percent increase from end-2018.

“Because of active market makers, interest has picked up in the secondary market as these instruments may also present as alternative investments within the interbank money market. The market-making activity in this segment, outside of the traditional GS (government securities) environment, is certainly a great feature that PDEx would like to see extended to the rest of the corporate bond market segments. This is a good development and one which PDEx will actively support to further blossom,” PDEx president and chief operating officer Antonino Nakpil stated.

Standard Chartered Bank acted as sole arranger and selling agent while PSBank’s parent bank Metrobank and First Metro Investment Corp. as other selling agents.