Philippine National Bank (PNB), the lending arm of tycoon Lucio Tan, is returning to the overseas debt market to raise at least $300 million.
The capital raising plan will be issued from the bank’s $2-billion medium-term note program (MTNP), PNB said in disclosure to the stock exchange Monday.
PNB did not provide additional details on the planned offering including the timetable, use of proceeds and lead managers and bookruuners for the transaction.
The last time PNB ventured into the overseas debt market was in 2019 wherein it raised $300 million to beef up its capital base and bankroll its expansion plans.
It also raised $750 million from issuance of fixed-rate senior notes in the same year, after establishing a $2-billion MTNP. The notes which carry a coupon rate of 3.28 percent a year will mature in 5.25 years or by September 2024.
PNB posted a net income of P5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024, up 10 percent from the same period last year.
Core income in the first quarter amounted to P12.9 billion, up by 7 percent from a year ago, with net interest margin growing 12 percent year-on-year to P11.7 billion.
This was mainly due to the combined effect of the increase in the bank’s loan portfolio and better yields which increased by an average of 47 basis points.
The bank was also able to mitigate the effect of higher cost of deposits and increase in deposit volume by reducing its high-cost funding.
The bank plans to expand its reach to the small- and medium-enterprises as well as in consumer lending this year.
The bank had a distribution network of 631 domestic branches and offices and 1,680 automated teller machines (ATM) in the Philippines as of end-2023.
It has the widest international footprint among Philippine banks spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America with its overseas branches, representative offices, remittance centers and subsidiaries.
