BDO raises P36B from new bond float

BDO president Nestor Tan

The country’s largest lender, BDO Unibank, has raised P36 billion from another large local bond offering that was warmly received by the cash-awash local financial market.

The bonds have a tenor of 1.75 years and a coupon rate of 3.125 per cent per annum.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, BDO reported that the bond offering was oversubscribed by seven times the base offer of P5 billion. This was attributed to “robust demand from individual and institutional investors.”

The bonds were exclusively offered through BDO Trust & Investments Group and BDO Private Bank Trust.

Interest on the bonds will be paid quarterly, calculated on a 30/360 count basis. The offer ran from June 15 to 26 this year.

“The latest bond issuance is part of BDO’s continuing efforts to diversify its funding sources and support its lending activities,” the disclosure said.

British bank Standard Chartered Bank was the sole lead arranger and market maker for the issue, while BDO and BDO Private Bank were the selling agents.

This forms part of BDO’s upgraded P300-billion bond program, over a third of which had been raised since the program was launched early last year.