Bank of Commerce realigns remaining IPO proceeds

Bank of Commerce (BankCom) said the remaining P940 million in proceeds from its initial public offering (IPO) would be used for lending activities, deviating from the original purpose to fund various IT upgrades.

BankCom said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday it would instead finance IT upgrades with its own earnings since negotiations with technology vendors allowed the bank to stretch payments over multiple years.

“[W]ith the significant increase in BankCom’s profit run rate over the past year, IT investments can already be fully funded by revenues from its regular banking operations,” BankCom said.

The lender noted more than 70 percent of the P3.4 billion IPO proceeds was deployed for loans and securities purchases. “[T]he reallocation of the remaining P940 million from the IPO proceeds for lending activities [will begin] in the fourth quarter of 2022,” the filing showed.

BankCom previously said IT spending would include upgrades to its core banking system and automated teller machines. The lender made its Philippine Stock Exchange debut last May 31 as part of its universal banking license application.

Its goal was to accelerate growth “to achieve economies of scale, improve efficiency, and be [on a par] with the country’s leading domestic banks.”

It previously announced that net income from January to June reached P886.9 million versus P304.4 million in the same period last year.

Net interest income rose 18.21 percent to P3.1 billion as its loan portfolio expanded by 35.6 percent. Interest expenses rose 9 percent to P385.7 million. INQ