Bank of Commerce (BankCom), an affiliate of San Miguel Corp., said Wednesday it raised P18 billion from the issuance of fixed-rate bonds.
The bank’s latest bond offering had warm reception from retail and institutional investors which enabled it achieve its largest peso bond offering to date.
The dual-tranche fixed rate bonds due 2027 (Series C Bonds) and due 2030 (Series D Bonds) exceeded the minimum offer size of P5 billion by 3.6 times. As a result, the bank shortened public offer to three days.
“We appreciate the strong support of investors and are elated that one of our shortest peso bond offering 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 Aguilar said in a statement to the stock exchange Wednesday.
BankCom raised P10.00685 billion in Series C Bonds which have a tenor of two years and a fixed interest rate of 6.1942 percent per annum and P7.99315 billion in Series D Bonds with a tenor of 5.25 years and a fixed interest rate of 6.3494 percent per annum.
Interest will be paid quarterly.
The bonds were issued as the third tranche from the bank’s P50-billion bond shelf registration program. The bonds were listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) Wednesday.
The bank said it would use the proceeds to manage its balance sheet, diversify funding sources and for general corporate purposes.
As of September 2024, BankCom recorded a net income of P2.2 billion, a 10-percent increase from P2 billion reported in the previous year on the back of strong growth in its core lending business.
Return on equity stood at 9.27 percent.
Net interest income went up by 11 percent year-on-year on healthy growth across all lending segments.
The bank also saw growth on its service charges, fees, and commissions driven by revenues from its investment banking, credit card, and trust businesses.
BankCom appointed ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch (ING), Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc. (PCCI Capital), Security Bank Capital Investment Corporation (Security Bank Capital) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners.
It also acted as a selling agent for the offering, together with ING, PCCI Capital, Security Bank Capital, and SCB.
