Metrobank completes P100 billion fundraising

MANILA, Philippines — Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has completed its P100-billion fundraising program launched in November 2018 with the sale of P19 billion bonds in the domestic market.

Metrobank said the recent fundraising was 1.9 times oversubscribed as institutional and retail investors gobbled up the peso-denominated bond offer, prompting the country’s second largest lender to cut short the public offer period to May 18 from the original schedule of May 6 to 24.

The original issue size was P10 billion.

The bonds, with a tenor of 5.25 years and a coupon of 3.60 percent payable quarterly, will be listed in the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) on June 4.

The bank, owned by the family of the late taipan George SK Ty, was able to raise P10.5 billion in just one day in June last year from its 1.25 years peso-denominated bonds. It also raised P10 billion in November and P18 billion in December 2018, followed by P17.5 billion in April last year, P11.25 billion in July, and another P13.75 billion in October.

In the overseas debt market, Metrobank raised $500 million via the issuance of dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes in July last year to optimize the bank’s capital structure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is part of a medium term note program worth up to $2 billion or its equivalent in other currencies launched in March 2017 to fund its expansion program.

The bank intends to use the proceeds of the fundraising activity to bankroll general working capital needs, diversify funding sources as well as shore up the bank’s position in preparation for a bounce back from the pandemic.

Metrobank’s profit jumped by 27 percent to P7.78 billion in the first quarter from P6.12 billion in the same quarter last year as trading gains more than doubled to P2.89 billion while provisioning for soured loans fell by 50 percent to P2.5 billion.

Metrobank’s asset base stood at P2.4 trillion and its total equity amounted to P306.6 billion as of end-March. It has over 950 branches, over 2,300 ATMs nationwide as well as over 30 foreign branches, subsidiaries and representative offices.