Philippine Savings Bank, the consumer banking arm of the Metrobank Group, plans to raise P8 billion in fresh capital through a stock right offering early next year to support growth.
PSBank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday its board approved the planned stock rights issuance in a meeting held Oct. 15, 2018.
PSBank said the issuance would involve a maximum of 184,749,509 common shares equivalent to the remaining unissued shares from its authorized capital stock “or approximately P8 billion in fresh capital.”
“Timing and size of the transaction are subject to other details such as the offer price and are subject to receipt of regulatory approvals as well as market and other conditions,” PSBank said. The target issuance dates are in the first quarter of 2019.
“This stock rights issuance is aimed in supporting the expected growth of the bank,” it said.
The board also cleared First Metro Investment Corp. as issue manager and underwriter, Picazo Buyco Tan Fider and Santos Law Offices as legal counsel, and Metrobank Trust Banking Group as stock transfer agent.
PSBank’s net income in the first six months of 2018 rose 14.7 percent to P1.35 billion from P1.18 billion year-on-year on the sustained strength of core businesses.
The bank credited the robust revenues driven by net interest income and service fees to the strong performance.
Net interest income improved to P5.85 billion, up 8.8 percent from P5.38 billion a year earlier.
PSBank’s total loan portfolio in the first half of the year showed a double-digit growth of 10.7 percent to P151.62 billion from P137.01 billion in 2017.
Resources totaled P234.76 billion, up 7.4 percent from the same period last year, while deposits rose 9 percent to P200.09 billion.
The bank’s earnings translated into a return on equity of 11.83 percent.
Common Equity Tier 1 ratio was at 11 percent and capital adequacy ratio—a measure of financial strength—was at 13.7 percent. Both ratios are above the minimum required level set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
PSBank has 250 branches and over 600 automated teller machines strategically located nationwide.