MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Bank (PNB) has successfully raised P7 billion through a public offering of peso-denominated Long Term Negotiable Certificates of Time Deposits (LTNCDs) last Dec. 12. The milestone was celebrated with a bell ringing ceremony at the Philippine Dealing Exchange (PDEx). With an oversubscribed booking, the 5.5-year deposit was priced at 4.125 percent. PNB executive vice president and head of Treasury Group Horacio E. Cebrero III revealed that it was their first time to list a peso-dominated LTNCD in the PDEx so that the fundraising activity would support the bank’s asset growth. “The privilege of having the LTNCDs listed in PDEx will also give the investing public a trading platform that may lead to an increase in the liquidity of the instrument and strengthen transparency in pricing through its price discovery trading process,” he adds. PNB hired Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC) as sole lead arranger and First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and Multinational Investment Bancorporation as selling agents. PNB is the country’s fourth largest private commercial bank in terms of assets and deposits. PNB continues to expand its operations and develop tailor-fit solutions through its 656 domestic branches.