Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., the ninth-largest lender in terms of assets, said Wednesday it raised over P3 billion in two-year peso fixed-rate bonds.
The bank said the bond offering, with an original size of P3 billion, was closed earlier than expected due to oversubscription from investors.
The offering was part of the bank’s P100-billion bond and commercial paper program. The bank told the stock exchange it closed the offering period on Wednesday, or two days earlier than the original date of March 27, 2020.
“RCBC’s fourth foray into the peso bond market was met with strong demand from investors, allowing the bank to raise more than its target size of P3 billion. Proceeds from the offering will be used to support the bank’s asset growth, re-finance maturing liabilities, and fund other general purposes,” it said.
“The bank is thankful for the support of its investors with orders reaching more than double its original volume, following its public offering period which started March 23, 2020,” RCBC added.
It said it decided to shorten the public offering period in order to provide sufficient time for the submission of the documentary requirements in light of the logistical challenges amid the enhanced community quarantine brought about by COVID-19 outbreak.
“This is in line with RCBC’s commitment to restore normalization in the capital markets and support business activity despite current execution challenges,” it said.
It offered the bonds in denominations of P100,000 and increments of P10,000 thereafter at a coupon of 4.848 percent yearly. The bonds will be listed with Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on April 7, 2020.
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. was mandated as the sole lead arranger and book-runner of the offering, along with RCBC Capital Corp. as the financial advisor. The selling agents are HSBC and RCBC.
RCBC, one of the largest banks in the country, is a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in Southeast Asia.
The bank’s net income in 2019 jumped 25 percent to P5.4 billion on the back of sustained expansion in its core businesses.
Bank president and chief executive Eugene Acevedo said the performance last year set the stage for the kind of growth the bank wanted to see in the future.
Gross revenues rose 35 percent to P35.9 billion as interest income from loans and receivables grew 21 percent, driven by solid volume growth and sustained margins across all customer segments.
Non-interest income jumped 125 percent due to stronger contributions of treasury-related and fee-based income, which includes deposit and branch fees, trust fees, and card-related fees.
The bank’s small and medium enterprises and consumer loan segments saw solid double-digit growth of 29 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
Credit cards saw a robust growth with card receivables increasing 44 percen. It had a card base of almost 877,000, up by 26 percent.