Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) has successfully listed P19.0 billion worth of its Peso-denominated fixed-rate bonds on the Philippine Dealing Exchange (PDEx).
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said this is the seventh and last issuance out of its P100.0 billion Bond and Commercial Paper Programme. It has raised an aggregate of P81.0 billion from offerings of Peso bonds since November 2018.
The Bonds have a tenor of 5.25 years and a coupon of 3.60 percent with quarterly interest payments.
“We are thankful to our investors for their confidence and support. The strong demand allowed us to end the offer period early, with orders almost two times of what we initially targeted, and at a much tighter spread to benchmark than what we had expected”, said Metrobank Treasury Group Head Angelica Reyes.
She added that, “Our investors are assured that they can count on Metrobank to continue providing meaningful banking service and be worthy of the trust they have given us.” First Metro Investment Corporation and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited are the Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners of the offer. Metrobank, together with the Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners, is a Selling Agent for the issuance.
Proceeds from the issuance will be used by the bank for its general working capital needs and the diversification of the bank’s funding sources.
Metrobank reported a 27.1 percent hike in net income to P7.8 billion in the first quarter this year from the P6.1 billion earned in the same period of 2020.
The bank said its robust net income growth was due to stable asset quality, strong non-interest income performance, and marginal rise in operating expenses.
“Our strategy and prudent approach last year paved the way for a strong start in 2021,” said Metrobank President Fabian S. Dee.
He added that, “Our capital position is double the regulatory minimum, with capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 19.9 percent and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) of 19.0 percent.”
Dee noted that, “Our reserves also cover 166 percent of our non-performing loans (NPL). This ensures that Metrobank will sustain its business resilience, and we remain confident that the Bank is ready to take on opportunities as the economy recovers.”
“We are in a strong position to withstand a resurgence in asset quality risks and we remain vigilant even as we all continue to battle the pandemic,” Dee said.
Non-interest income surged by 28 percent year-on-year (YoY) to P7.9 billion. Fee-based revenue is stable at P3.3 billion despite business activities still being slower than pre-pandemic levels.
Trust fee income grew at a robust 20 percent, in line with the 30 percentgrowth in assets under management.
To top it off, trading and foreign exchange gains doubled to P2.9 billion as the Treasury group realized gains prior to the reversal of yields.