Bank of Commerce (BoC), the banking arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., said Tuesday it launched its P5-billion fixed-rate bond offering with an oversubscription option.
BoC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the P5 billion Series B bond offering would be issued as the second tranche from its P20-billion bond shelf registration programmed approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The latest bond offering has a tenor of 1.5 years and a fixed interest rate of 6.5635 percent per annum.
The public offer period is from April 30 to May 9, 2024, but may be shortened depending on the demand, the bank said.
The Series B bonds will be issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) on May 16, 2024.
BoC said it would use the net proceeds from the fund-raising activity to refinance maturing debt obligations.
BoC registered a record net income of P2.8 billion in 2023, up 56 percent from P1.8 billion it reported in the previous year.
The bank’s return on equity stood at 9.52 percent at the end of 2023, marking an improvement from the previous year’s 7.01 percent.
The bank’s record profit was backed by growth in its core lending business. Net Interest Income went up by P1.61 billion or 24 percent year on year. Growth was registered across all lending segments.
BoC appointed ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch (ING) and Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc (PCCI Capital) as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the issuance.
The bank is also acting as a selling agent for the offering, together with ING and PCCI Capital.
BoC maintains a network of 140 branches and 250 automated teller machines (ATMs) nationwide.