PNB eyes dollar bond issuance in Q4

MANILA, Philippines — Lucio Tan-led Philippine National Bank (PNB) is preparing to issue dollar-denominated bonds in the fourth quarter, with the bank targeting a release in November or December.

In an interview with reporters, PNB president Florido Casuela said the issuance comes as part of the bank’s strategy to manage upcoming bond maturities and raise capital to support its initiatives.

“We have maturing bonds in September,” Casuela said. “So we will be floating bonds perhaps in the later part (of the year). We’re targeting November or December.”

While PNB has not yet finalized the exact amount it plans to raise, Casuela said that it would depend on market conditions and the bank’s specific needs at the time of issuance.

“It depends really on the outlook and what we need. But right now, we are preparing for that,” he said.

Earlier in May, PNB said it was looking to return to the offshore debt market this year to raise at least $300 million from the issuance of dollar bonds.

The bank also updated its euro medium-term note program to $2 billion from $1 billion previously.

According to Casuela, the tenor of the bonds will likely be between three and five years, but no final decision has been made.

He also said the bank is considering adding a sustainability component to the upcoming bonds. But certain sustainability criteria must be met before any thematic issuance can be confirmed.

In June 2019, PNB raised $750 million from the offshore debt market via the issuance of fixed rate senior notes, with the fund raising activity heavily oversubscribed.

The bank was originally raising at least $300 million to beef up its capital base and bankroll its expansion program but the order book reached $3.25 billion.

The bank has also raised P13.87 billion via the maiden offering of fixed-rate peso-denominated bonds in May 2019. The two-year bonds due 2021 were three times oversubscribed as the original volume of the issuance was only P5 billion.

PNB saw its income rising by 6.2 percent to P10.3 billion in the first half from P9.7 billion a year ago as the lender beefed up its core banking activities.

The bank’s total assets increased by four percent to P1.26 trillion as of end-June from the previous quarter due to higher loans and treasury assets.