MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Bank (PNB) has extended a P2-billion five-year term loan to Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) recently.
The loan will be used to fund PLDT’s capital outlay for its Next Generation Network (NGN) project. PLDT embarked on a major program to upgrade its existing legacy system into an IP-based network.
The NGN project will enable millions of PLDT subscribers nationwide to enjoy faster data transmission and uninterrupted connectivity.
PNB also previously provided working capital facilities to PLDT’s subsidiary, Smart Communications, and its subsidiary, Piltel.
PNB is one of the country’s major lenders, which provides its diverse clientele base with a broad range of services such as loans, trade finance, foreign exchange, cash management solutions and other corporate banking services.
Its loan portfolio registered a robust 34-percent growth in 2008 as it supported the business requirements of its large corporate clients, small and medium enterprises, and government institutions.
In the first three months of 2009, PNB reported a 61-percent growth in net interest income from P1.3 billion to P2.1 billion, owning to the growth in loans, deposits and investments.
Loans and receivables grew by 31 percent from January to March this year, prior to the P2-billion PLDT loan.
Lending activities to corporate, consumer and SME segments expanded with new account acquisitions, higher line utilization of existing borrowers, and cross-selling of products and services.
Deposits rose by P20 billion or 11 percent year-on-year to close at P200 billion.
Loans accounted for 36 percent of total assets while revenues from investment securities contributed 33 percent of total interest income.