BPI rolls out P5-B bond sale, notes priced at 6.425% per year

MANILA  -The Ayala Group’s Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) rolled out a P5-billion bond sale on Tuesday as it priced the 1.5-year debt offer at 6.425 percent per annum.

The offer period is from Oct. 17 through Nov. 3, the country’s third-biggest lender said in a stock exchange filing. The bonds will be listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on Nov. 13 this year.

Applications to purchase the bonds require a minimum investment amount of P1 million with increments of P100,000 on top of the amount.

“BPI will use the net proceeds of the offer for general corporate purposes, and the offer will contribute to BPI’s funding source diversification,” the lender said on Tuesday.

Investment banking arm BPI Capital Corp. and ING Bank N.V. Manila branch were tapped as joint lead arrangers and selling agents for the sale.

READ: PH antitrust regulator clears BPI-Robinsons Bank merger

BPI is in the midst of completing the acquisition and merger with the smaller Robinsons Bank of the Gokongwei family. The government antitrust body, Philippine Competition Commission, recently cleared the takeover, saying the deal “will not likely result in substantial lessening of competition”.

The Zobel family-led lender is expanding its business during a period of strong profit growth for banks.

READ:  BPI profit jumped 23% in H1 2023

It grew profit during the first semester of 2023 by 23 percent to P25.1 billion while total revenues were up nearly 14 percent to P65.6 billion.

From January to June, BPI said net interest income added 27.4 percent to P50.1 billion while assets expanded by 9.2 percent. It also reordered an increase in net interest margin by 56 basis points to 4.03 percent.

Its total assets grew 8.9 percent to P2.7 trillion while total deposits expanded by 7.6 percent to P2.1 trillion, the bank said in a previous filing.