The Philippine Bank of Communications or PBCOM approved the issuance of a P15-billion bond program to finance its core businesses.

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, the bank said it approved an initial bond offer worth at least P2 billion out of the multiple tranches of the program.

“The bond program will support the bank’s growth objective while simultaneously achieving diversification of its funding structure as well as reduce dependency on short-term funding sources,” PBCOM said.

The bank said its Board of Directors made these decisions in its regular meeting on 20 March.

The bond program will feature a minimum tenor of one and half years or a duration based on market demand.

Meanwhile, the interest rate will be set based on the prevailing market rates.