Equitable PCI Bank trader gets citation

One of the traders of Equitable PCI Bank has been cited as among the most astute global bond investors in a survey conducted by The Asset, an Asia finance magazine.

Raul Martin A. Pedro, vice president of the bank’s Treasury Group, is the only trader of a Philippine domestic bank, and is one of only two Philippine-based traders among the 157 polled individuals. The Hong Kong-based magazine asked credit analysts, dealers, and salespeople on the "sell-side" of the business.

Pedro manages the bank’s participation in the Asian dollar bond market. The survey sought to find out how the market saw investors performing as issuance of Asian dollar bonds looks to reach record levels for the year, leading to tighter spreads and a tougher climate for investors. "The most astute investors, the sell-side believes, have what it takes to make sound investment decisions in all market conditions," read the cover story in the magazine’s October 2003 issue.

Pedro and the bank’s treasury group perfectly timed the sale of a $200 million Tier-2 bond issue last summer, just before the market for Philippine paper softened.

The article quoted analysts as saying the Asian dollar issuance, which had reached $18 billion as of mid-September, could well top the $30-billion mark for the full year, representing a 50-percent rise over 2002.

Excess liquidity by Asian banks is growing at the rate of $9 billion a month. At the same time, interest in Asian paper from global investors in the US and Europe is on the rise.

In recent years, Equitable PCI Bank received citation from three regional business publications. In 2001, the Bureau of Treasury named the treasury group as second best-performing government securities-eligible dealer.

This year, Equitable PCI Bank’s trust banking group topped the 66th Watson Wyatt Survey on Investment Performance of Retirement Funds in the Philippines based on second-quarter ROI (return on investment) from among investment managers handling at least five funds under the category "Trusteed Funds Managed with Full Discretion".

It had similarly topped the 65th Watson Wyatt survey based on first quarter ROI from among investment managers handling at least five funds for both trusteed and full-discretion accounts.