Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company said Wednesday it successfully priced US dollar-denominated Reg-S 5.5-year offering for $500 million with a fixed coupon of 2.125 percent, payable semi-annually.
Metrobank is rated ‘Baa2’ with a stable outlook by Moody’s Investor Service and BBB- with stable outlook by Fitch Ratings.
The notes were priced at US Treasury spreads of T+200 bps, after initial price guidance of T+235 bps area. The order book was in excess of five times oversubscribed with 120 investors at its peak. “This reflects the strong confidence investors’ have in Metrobank’s credit,” the bank said.
It said that in terms of distribution, the order book was allocated predominantly to Asia (81 percent), and the remaining to Europe, the Middle East and Africa (19 percent).
The issuance of the notes represents the first senior notes of Metrobank in the international capital markets, matching the lowest coupon for a Philippine borrower.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of the successful issuance which confirms the confidence and strength of Metrobank’s name and track record in the Philippines. This bond issuance will further enhance our business strength and optimize our capital structure especially in this current market environment,” said Metrobank president Fabian Dee.
“We are thankful for the strong support from the global investors after our re-entry in 17 years. The successful 5.5-year USD-denominated issuance will allow us to diversify our funding sources and shore up our financial position as we prepare for a bounce back and recovery,” said Fernand Antonio Tansingco, head of the bank’s financial market sector.
Upon issuance, the net proceeds from the bonds will be used to tap longer-term offshore funding, diversify Metrobank’s funding sources and finance maturing short-term borrowings.
UBS AG Hong Kong Branch and First Metro Investment Corp. are the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the transaction. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and SMBC Nikko Securities were the joint lead managers.