Asia United Bank (AUB) Corp. announced it is set to redeem all its outstanding notes amounting to P5 billion next month or earlier than its original redemption date.
“Notice is hereby given by [AUB] to its noteholders exercising the Early Redemption Option and, hereby, redeems all of the outstanding notes amounting to P5 billion on the redemption date,” the listed bank said in a disclosure last Tuesday.
In the same day, shares in AUB rose by 2.05 percent, or 90 centavos, to close at P44.90 each amid the 0.64-percent dip for the main index.
The 5.625-percent unsecured subordinated Tier-2 notes due 2025 were issued on November 25, 2015.
Redemption date is on February 25 while book closure is set on February 23.
The payment for the redemption includes the face value of the notes, along with the accrued and unpaid interest as of book closure data.
“There shall be no secondary trading of the notes or modifications in the accounts after the book closure date,” AUB said.
In addition, the listed bank said that the principal and accrued interest will be paid through the paying agent to all noteholders on record.
The transaction, approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), was pursuant to BSP Monetary Board Resolution 1263 and early redemption option of the notes’ terms and conditions.
Last month, the Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) gave the bank a credit rating of PRS Aa plus with stable outlook.
The given rating means AUB has “strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other Philippine corporates,” PhilRatings explained. A stable outlook, meanwhile, means that the rating is likely to be maintained in the next 12 months.
In January to September 2020, AUB’s earnings were flat at P3.8 billion year-on-year. Operating income for the period rose by 25 percent to P11.5 billion, thanks to its core businesses.
The bank earmarked credit loss provisions of P3 billion as of end-September 2020, which is four times more than it booked in 2019 for the same period. Its nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio stood at 2.2 percent while NPL coverage reached 96.3 percent.
AUB’s total assets amounted to P290.1 billion as of end-September last year.