THE Philippine National Bank (PNB) is offering P3 billion worth of lower Tier 2 notes to refinance its existing lower Tier 2 notes callable in February 2009, the bank said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange late Tuesday.

PNB said it has started offering the notes on June 3 and has already received P7 billion in tenders as of Friday.

Indicative interest rate for the notes is 8.5 percent. The bank would determine the final rate this week. The notes will have an initial maturity of 10 years but are callable by 2013.

The lender said the rate of the notes may increase if the bank does not call the notes after five years. It said it plans to close the offer period on June 18.

The Deutsche Bank AG in Manila was hired to arrange and sell PNB’s debt instrument. Other agents hired to sell were Allied Banking Corp., First Metro Investment Corp. and Multinational Investment Corp.

Limited selling agents include PNB and PNB Capital and Investment Corp. Deutsche Bank Manila is also acting as registry for the transaction. Development Bank of the Philippines is the designated public trustee.

In 2007 the bank posted a net income of P1.5 billion, up 83 percent from 2006. As of end-December, the bank had total capital funds of P30.2 billion and a capital-adequacy ratio of 19 percent against the 10-percent benchmark set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The bank, which is in the process of a merger with Allied Bank, posted a net income of P457 million in the first quarter of the year, up 48 percent from P308 million a year earlier due to improvements in its core businesses and reduced nonperforming assets.

It is divesting its 40-percent stake from insurance arm Beneficial-PNB Life Insurance Co. Inc. to focus on its bancassurance business with PNB Life Insurance Inc. The bank is getting P700 million from the sale.

THE investment-hungry Chinese that eyed Asia Trust Bank as a possible buy have shifted sights on the larger Philippine Bank of Communications.

THE national government (NG) borrowed P110 billion from domestic and foreign creditors in March.

The gross borrowings reflect a 3-percent jump from February that pushed the nation’s total debts to P3.881 trillion. This is P50 billion, or 1.3 percent lower from the level a year earlier.

THE Philippine National Bank (PNB) is offering P3 billion worth of lower Tier 2 notes to refinance its existing lower Tier 2 notes callable in February 2009, the bank said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange late Tuesday.

THE average rate for 364-day Treasury bills yesterday fell 5.6 basis points to 6.79 percent in what the Bureau of Treasury said was a correction in the market and rise in demand.