Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-largest lender in terms of assets, expects to raise at least P3 billion from the issuance of COVID Action Response Bonds due 2022, the country’s first peso-denominated bonds to be issued as a direct response to the pandemic.
BPI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday the bonds would be available from June 22 until July 17. The issue and listing date of the CARE Bonds are set on Aug. 7, 2020.
The bank and the joint lead arrangers may agree to adjust the timing of any of these dates as considered appropriate. The CARE Bonds is the third tranche of BPI’s P100-billion bond program.
“The proceeds of the CARE bonds will be used to finance and refinance eligible micro, small and medium enterprises under the bank’s sustainable funding framework,” it said.
“MSMEs have been significantly affected by the global pandemic and BPI recognizes that these enterprises, which account for a significant percentage of the country’s employment, are crucial to the growth and recovery of our economy,” the bank said.
It said supporting these businesses would help create a more inclusive society where all Filipinos benefit from the country’s economic gains.
The CARE Bonds will have a tenor of 1.75 years and an interest rate of 3.05 percent per annum, paid quarterly in arrear, with the minimum investment amount of P1,000,000, with additional increments of P100,000 thereafter.
BPI Capital Corp. and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. are the joint lead arrangers of the CARE Bonds. BPI Capital is sole selling agent, while HSBC is a participating selling agent.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said last week the CARE bonds qualified as social bonds under the ASEAN Social Bonds Standards in the Philippines.