PSBank debt note twice oversubscribed

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) said it sold P3 billion of bonds and that there was P6 billion of demand for them.

In a statement, PSBank, a unit of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., said it sold the bonds at a yield of 5.75 percent. It said it would use the funds to boost lending.

ING Bank was the lead arranger of the bond sale. Multinational Investment Bancorp., First Metro Investment Corp. and PSBank helped sell the securities. 

PSBank last year bought back P2 billion of 10-year bonds five years before they were due saying it was more beneficial to do so amid falling interest rates, having sold them with an interest rate of 10 percent in 2006.

“Proceeds from the notes will be used to finance PSBank’s asset growth and further strengthen its capital base. The Philippine Ratings Corp. rated the notes PRS AAA,” PSBank senior vice president Perfecto Ramon Dimayuga Jr. said.

For the P3-billion bond issuance, the lead arranger was ING Bank NV, and was joined by Multinational Investment Bancorporation as selling agent.

First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and PSBank were also limited selling agents.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Standard Chartered Bank were also appointed as public trustees and registry and paying agent for the notes, respectively. 

“If we feel for the need for another issue, we can do another P2-billion, which was already approved by our board and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP),” Pascual Garcia III, PSBank president and chief executive officer said.

PSBank presently operates a network of 200 branches, a bank client base of at least 350,000, and total network of 483 ATMs.