STANDARD Chartered Bank (SCB) has affirmed its commitment to help drive economic growth amid the pandemic by supporting liquidity and shoring up investor sentiment.
The SCB said it raised last year a total of $36 billion in financing for its clients across Southeast Asia. The bank has improved its market position as the leading foreign bank in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations local currency bonds and ranked third in Asean G3 league table for the third consecutive year with a 43.1-percent increase in its share of deal-apportioned volumes.
In the Philippines, the SCB continues to be the market leader for peso-denominated bonds with record volumes leading 10 deals valued at P140 billion. The bank is also one of the leading bookrunners in the G3 space for Philippine issuers as it participated in 16 out of the 25 transactions in 2020.
“Amidst market volatility brought about by the pandemic, SCB’s Capital Markets franchise has deepened further, having supported new and existing clients achieve their funding goals in the bond markets,” Aaron Gwak, SCB Head of Capital Markets, Asean, said. “We will continue to help our clients tap the bond markets and contribute to the deepening of their investor base.”
SCB also promotes sustainable finance to support economic growth, expanding renewables financing and investing in sustainable infrastructure where it is needed most. The bank has been involved in several environmental, social and governance (ESG)-themed bonds in the region such as Indonesia’s sovereign bonds, where the proceeds were used for Covid-19 relief efforts and the maiden issuances of sustainability and green bonds in Thailand and Philippines.
A strong partner to government banks in the Philippines, the bank was Sole Arranger for Landbank’s return to the Capital Markets, as well as Sole Issue Manager and Joint Lead Arranger to DBP’s second drawdown from its PHP Bond Programme. SCB also supported the Republic of the Philippines (ROP) in all three landmark international capital markets issuances and assisted them to achieve the tightest spread and largest issuance by the ROP to date.
These efforts highlight its commitment, the bank said, to support key clients such as governments, private institutions, and banks to monitor the capital markets and seize opportunities to help raise strategic capital through these challenging times. These proceeds will support the key engines that drive the nation and lead it to sustainable recovery.
The bank attributes its leadership in the debt capital markets space to its comprehensive product suite, robust coverage model and underwriting and distribution capacity across all debt products.
“Access to the capital markets is an important enabler of economic growth. SCB has been fortunate to have managed and arranged 24 bond deals in 2020, thanks to the trust of our esteemed clients and our local and global franchise that has delivered the best outcomes for our clients,” SCB Philippines CEO Lynette V. Ortiz said.