State-run Development Bank of the Philippines on Friday expressed hope of becoming a P1-trillion bank by 2022.
DBP president and chief executive Emmanuel Herbosa said in a statement the bank's bond issuances to fund various development projects of vital economic sectors reeling from the ill-effects of the pandemic would help achieve the goal.
DBP recently raised P21 billion in a bond issuance to fund various development projects. Herbosa said the net proceeds of the second tranche would be earmarked for financing renewable energy, green buildings, clean transportation, energy efficiency, pollution prevention and control, sustainable water management, climate change adaptation, affordable basic infrastructure, affordable housing, food security and other similar developmental initiatives.
“The second bond issuance would allow us to reach a wider network of stakeholders, especially in the countryside, as we take a step closer to becoming a P1-trillion bank by 2022,” Herbosa said.
"The bond issuance did not only provide for a sound investment but also accorded investors an opportunity for directly partaking in initiatives that advance social and economic advancement,” Herbosa said.
DBP was cited by a renowned international multi-media firm for its bond issuance in 2019, which was aimed at raising funds to bankroll projects on the environment and financial inclusion.
The bank’s maiden issuance of ASEAN Sustainability Bonds, amounting to P18.125-billion, won as Best Sustainability Bond-Financial Institution in The Asset Country Awards 2020 presented by Hong Kong-based financial publication The Asset.
The proceeds from 2019's bond issuance, the first bond program exclusively focused on sustainability, were used to fund projects that contribute towards economic inclusion, climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resource conservation, pollution control and prevention and other social issues.
Herbosa said the P18.125 billion raised, which was upsized from the initial amount of P5-billion, represented the initial tranche of DBP's P50-billion bond program geared at financing environmental and social projects eligible under the bank’s Sustainability Finance Framework.
He said 83 percent of the proceeds were allocated to 15 projects in sustainable and renewable energy, while the rest was allocated evenly between initiatives for water supply and sanitation and health care.
DBP is the seventh largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy—infrastructure and logistics; micro, small and medium enterprises; environment; social services and community development.