MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved the plan of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) to raise P32 billion through a stock rights offering slated late next month.
The local banking giant intends to sell up to 500 million common shares at P20 a piece, with the rights shares to be taken from the bank’s unissued capital stock.
Metrobank said it is eyeing gross proceeds of about P32 billion from the offer which is expected to increase its common equity Tier 1 (CET1).
The offer period is scheduled to start on March 23 and end on March 27, with a tentative listing date set on April 7. The bank intends to peg the offer price on March 10.
Metrobank has tapped First Metro Investment Corp., J.P. Morgan Securities plc, and UBS AG Hong Kong branch as lead underwriters of the transaction while Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd Singapore branch is mandated as co-manager and co-underwriter.
As of end-September last year, the bank’s total asset base expanded 20 percent to P1.5 trillion while loan growth ballooned 21 percent to P697 billion behind a 23-percent growth in deposits.
Its total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 16.2 percent and CET1 of 12.1 percent, both are well above the central bank requirement of 10 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. – Richmond Mercurio