RCBC raising $400 M from notes issue

MANILA, Philippines - Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is raising $400 million from the issuance of senior notes for general bank and corporate purposes.

RCBC corporate information officer Ma. Christina Alvarez informed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the bank’s board of directors approved during a meeting last Monday the issuance of up to $400 million of senior notes out of RCBC’s $1 billion medium term note program.

Alvarez said RCBC also plans to undertake a bond exchange of its $275 million senior notes due 2017.

RCBC said the issuance of senior notes and the bond exchange would be subject to favorable market conditions and other considerations.

Earlier, the bank announced it has closed and signed a three-year $280 million syndicated loan facility with a diverse group of international banks.

Lending commitments were received from 18 international lenders distributed across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East including many first time participants in RCBC’s syndicated loans.

Deutsche Bank AG and ING Bank served as lead arrangers, underwriters, and bookrunners.

Earnings of RCBC went up 25 percent to P2.53 billion in the first half fromP2.02 billion in the same period last year on the back of the bank’s expanding lending business.

RCBC reported its net interest income reached P7.45 billion and accounted for 63 percent of the bank’s gross income that went up by 12.4 percent to P11.8 billion.

It pointed out its 4.2 percent annualized net interest margin remains one of the highest in the banking sector.

Furthermore, the bank said its loan book excluding interbank loans grew 18 percent to P275.7 billion. The interest income from its lending business contributed 83 percent to the bank’s total interest income.

The bank booked a 20 percent increase in corporate loans as well as an 18 percent rise in consumer loans.

Likewise, loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) surged 30 percent in the first half of the year while microfinance lending through Rizal Microbank zoomed 46 percent.

Amid the strong growth of its lending business, RCBC said its asset quality remained well-managed as it booked a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 0.24 percent while parent bank NPL cover stood strong at 159.13 percent.

The bank reported a nine percent increase in total operating expenses to P7.4 billion from January to June this year.

RCBC’s total deposits amounted to P321.9 billion as total number of accounts expanded to 6.9 million in the first half from 6.3 million in the same period last year.

The number of bank branches increased to 450 in the first half from 439 in the same period last year while number of ATMs reached 1,208 from 1,163.

RCBC’s consolidated assets grew by nine percent to P468.7 billion in the first half of the year while capital funds improved to P62.4 billion.