Universal bank Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. listed at the Philippine Dealings and Exchange Corp. on Friday its P23.7 billion 1.5-year fixed rate bond, which has a coupon rate of five percent.
The bank said it raised the issue size from the P10 billion offering due to strong demand and even shortened the offer period to 17 October instead of 19 October.
"The demand from both retail and corporate clients prompted us to increase our initial bond offering by more than two times beyond the P10 billion we announced to meet the very strong interest. The funds raised will mainly be used for the bank's general capital requirements, including refinancing of some maturing issuances," Fernand Antonio Tansingco, Metrobank senior executive vice president and head of the Financial Markets Sector, said.
He said the "overwhelming response" to their bond offering "affirms that despite the uncertainties, there is still strong demand for high-quality issuers like Metrobank."
Primary market proponent
PDEx president and chief executive officer Antonino Nakpil said "it is fitting that Metrobank, the bank that pioneered bond issuance post the change in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas regulations back in 2018, is the one that pushes the level of annual bond listings above the P400 billion milestone."
"The primary market is the bright spot for 2022 with the issuer community really showing that it is back with a vengeance after a lackluster 2021. Corporate and bank issuers have kept the wheels of public financing rolling and domestic investors have reciprocated with more than ample funds," he said.
The bank said the latest debt paper issuance is part of its increased P200 billion bond and commercial paper program, which was approved by its board of directors on 15 December 2021.