RCBC raises record $320 M

MANILA, Philippines - Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. has raised $320 million under a deal marked as the largest US dollar-denominated bond issuance by a Philippine bank.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), RCBC said the issuance of unsecured bonds due 2021 was over four times oversubscribed as it received orders of over $1.3 billion.

RCBC attracted over 150 accounts, allowing the bank to allocate approximately 87 percent of the orders to offshore accounts further diversifying its investor base.

This allowed RCBC to tighten its pricing to just 3.45 percent from an initial guidance of 3.75 percent. This was the lowest coupon ever by a Philippine bank so far reflecting the strong investor demand.

Proceeds of the fund raising activity would be used to finance RCBC’s participation in loans that are primarily intended for infrastructure projects.

The Yuchengco-owned bank said it capitalized on a window of opportunity that saw relatively improved market conditions.

The bonds denominated in $125,000 and increments of $1,000 thereafter would be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and are scheduled to mature on Feb. 2, 2021.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., and JP Morgan served as joint lead managers and bookrunners for the fund raising acitivity.

Last month, RCBC announced it would raise $400 million from the issuance of senior notes for general bank and corporate purposes. It also intends to undertake a bond exchange of its $275 million senior notes due 2017.

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