BANK of Commerce (BankCom) raised P18 billion from its offering of dual-tranche peso-denominated bonds.
The issuance was the bank’s largest to date as the total amount raised was 3.6 times the minimum offer size of P5 billion, BankCom said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday.
“We appreciate the strong support of investors and are elated that one of our shortest peso bond offerings has also become the largest in BankCom’s history. Their overwhelming response reflects their confidence in the bank’s strong fundamentals, and their preference for a clear and solid business strategy continues,” BankCom President Michelangelo R. Aguilar said.
“Proceeds from the issuance will be used for management of the bank’s balance sheet, diversification of funding sources, and general corporate purposes,” BankCom said.
The San Miguel Corp.-led bank listed the bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on Wednesday.
The papers comprise the third tranche of the bank’s P50-billion peso bond program.
The offer period for the issue ran from Jan. 28-30.
Broken down, P10.00685 billion was raised from the two-year Series C bonds and P7.99315 billion came from the 5.25-year Series D bonds.
The two-year Series C notes carry an interest rate of 6.1942% per annum, while the 5.25-year Series D papers were priced at 6.3494%, both with quarterly interest payouts.
The bonds were sold at minimum investment amounts of P100,000 and increments of P50,000 thereafter.
ING Bank N.V. Manila Branch, Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc., Security Bank Capital Investment Corp., and Standard Chartered Bank were the joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the issuance. They also acted as selling agents along with BankCom.
BankCom last tapped the domestic debt market in 2024, raising P6.57 billion from one-and-a-half-year bonds issued in May 2024. The papers were priced at 6.5635% per annum, payable quarterly.
The bank’s net income jumped by 87.16% to P792.382 million in the third quarter of 2024 amid higher revenues.
This brought its nine-month profit to P2.21 billion, up by 9.98% year on year.
BankCom’s shares went up by six centavos or 0.86% to close at P7.05 apiece on Wednesday. — A.M.C. Sy
