BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender, said Wednesday it raised P55.7 billion from the issuance of its third peso-denominated ASEAN sustainability bonds.
BDO said in a statement the offering was strongly received by foreign and local institutional investors as the issue was more than 11-times oversubscribed versus the original offer of P5 billion.
The latest ASEAN sustainability bonds have a tenor of 1.5 years and bear a coupon rate of 6.325 percent per annum. The bonds were issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. Wednesday.
“The net proceeds of the issuance are intended to finance and/or refinance eligible assets as defined in the Bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework and diversify the bank’s funding sources,” BDO said.
ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch acted as the sole arranger and sustainability coordinator, while BDO Unibank Inc. and ING were the selling agents. BDO Capital & Investment Corp. was the financial advisor.
The bank said that amid strong demand from both retail and institutional investors, it ended the offer period on July 16, 2024, or three days ahead of schedule.
The bank raised P63.3 billion in January 2024 from its second offering of ASEAN sustainability bonds. The 1.5-year notes carry a coupon of 6.025 percent per annum.
It also generated P52.7 billion from its first ASEAN sustainability bond issue in January 2022.
The Sy family-led bank is the largest in terms of assets, loans, deposits and trust funds under management based on published statements of condition as of March 31, 2024.
BDO also has the country’s largest distribution network, with over 1,700 consolidated operating branches and more than 5,500 teller machines nationwide. It also has 16 international offices, including full-service branches in Hong Kong and Singapore, in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
