By James A. Loyola

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has raised P25 billion from its offering of 1.25 year fixed rate bonds due March 2020 which it has priced at a coupon of 6.7970 percent per annum, payable quarterly.

The coupon represents a spread of 20 bps over the interpolated 1.25 year BVAL government benchmark rate, and is at the tight end of the spread range of 20 to 40 bps communicated to institutional investors during the institutional bookbuilding period.

The offering supports the Bank’s growth objectives and expansion plans while diversifying its funding sources. At the same time, the fixed rate bonds address clients’ need for new investments with shorter tenors compared to long-term negotiable certificates of deposits.

The offering is BPI’s first following the recent approval by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas of revisions to rules and regulations relating to the issuances by banks of bonds and commercial papers.

Due to the strong response from both retail and institutional investors, BPI has decided to close the offer period one day ahead of schedule on November 19, 2018.