THE shares of Bank of Commerce (BankCom), a unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), gained almost 2 percent during its maiden trade at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The bank’s shares—with the ticker “BNCOM”—closed at P12.22 apiece, up from its initial public offering (IPO) price of P12 per share. PSE President Ramon S. Monzon said the BankCom IPO is the first bank listing at the bourse in nine years.
“It also marks the first time in 27 years that PSE had IPO listings in all three months of the first quarter,” Monzon said during the ceremony. The bank’s debut at the bourse came after an initial public offering (IPO) consisting of 280.60 million common shares at P12.00 per share. BankCom said it was able to raise P3.36 billion in its IPO from March 16 to 22.
“BankCom’s strategic vision is to be at par with the country’s leading domestic banks,” SMC President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said. “We expect the bank to continue to grow in the coming years, achieve economies of scale, improve efficiency and serve more Filipinos, from retail customers, small-to-medium enterprises, to major corporate clients, as Philippine economic growth gets back on track.”
‘Growth opportunities’
IN a statement last Thursday, BankCom said proceeds from its IPO will fund its lending activities and finance capital expenditure requirements in connection with the upgrading of its ATM fleet and its core banking system.
“The commitment from our shareholders during this IPO reflects the high level of trust that investors and clients have on significant growth opportunities for BankCom in the years to come,“ BankCom President and CEO Michelangelo R. Aguilar said.
BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, China Bank Capital Corporation, Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc. and PNB Capital and Investment Corporation have been engaged as Joint Issue Managers, Joint Lead Underwriters and Joint Bookrunners for the IPO.
Earlier this year, BankCom reported a 63-percent growth in its assets under management (AUM) to P63 billion in 2021.
The bank attributed this to the performance of its Unit Investment Trust Funds and Investment Management Accounts, as clients sought more conservative products to better cover for future contingencies similar to the pandemic.
‘Reliable partner’
BANKCOM was originally established in 1963 as the Overseas Bank of Manila. Over the years, it had undergone several name changes and transfers of ownership. The lender became SMC’s banking arm when San Miguel Properties Inc. and SMC Retirement Fund acquired a majority stake in the bank in 2008.
“Since then, the company has proven itself as a reliable banking partner,” Monzon said.
He added that “under the visionary leadership” of Ang, together with the bank’s directors led by its former chairman Jose T. Pardo and current Chairman Francis C. Chua and the management team led by Aguilar, “BankCom is now ready to reap the rewards of its commitment to its values as it ventures into its new phase as a universal bank and a publicly-listed company.”
The bank needs to go public to comply with the conditions imposed by the Monetary Board after it granted the upgrade of the bank’s license from commercial bank to universal bank.