Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is braving the bond market again, setting its goal to raise at least P3 billion from the offering.
In a disclosure on Monday, the listed bank said it was offering 2-year fixed-rate peso bonds to support asset growth, refinance maturing obligations and fund other general corporate matters. The bonds, which carry an interest rate of 3.25 percent per annum, have an option to upsize relative to market conditions.
The offer period began on July 6 and is set to conclude on July 17, unless the transaction managers deemed it necessary for the schedule to be revised, the bank said.
Listing of the bonds with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx) is expected to be on July 27, its disclosure read.
The sole lead arranger of the transaction is ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch while RCBC Capital Corp is serving as the financial advisor. Both are selling agents.
The offering is the fifth tranche to be issued out from the bank’s P100-billion bond and commercial paper program. The said program has an unissued amount of P62.45 billion.
Since RCBC launched its bond program—which is aimed at diversifying its funding base—last year, the company has raised a total of P37.55 billion already.
In April, the bank listed its P7.05-billion fixed-rate bonds in PDEx, noting that a strong demand from investors allowed its offering to be oversubscribed by more than two times.
New payout partner
IN a separate statement, RCBC announced that Pampanga-based rural bank GRBank is now included in its payout partner network to boost digital services in Central Luzon.
GRBank will be part of RCBC’s “ATM Go,” a handheld automated teller machine service, and “DiskarTech Lite,” a disbursement platform for the government’s emergency financial support.
“RCBC’s accelerated digitalization efforts are well aligned with GRBank’s thrust in offering our unbanked and underserved Filipinos quick and simple access to financial services,” Elizabeth Carlos-Timbol, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of GRBank, was quoted in the statement as saying.
RCBC Executive Vice President Angelito M. Villanueva said that the mobile ATM services have disbursed over P2.8 billion to more than five million individuals already.
GRBank has 25 branches located in Central Luzon and Metro Manila.
The Yuchengco-led bank reported that its net income grew by 77 percent to P2.3 billion while gross revenues rose by 23 percent to P10 billion in the first three months. Its topline figures were driven by net interest income and non-interest earnings, which climbed by 19 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
Shares in RCBC declined by 0.12 percent, or 2 centavos, to finish at P17.04 each amid the 0.69-percent dip for the benchmark index on Monday. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad