Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) is planning to raise $500 million from the issuance of "Reg S" US dollar-denominated Senior Unsecured Notes.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank said it has been rated "Baa2" with a "stable" outlook by Moody’s Investors Service and "BBB-" also with a stable outlook by Fitch Ratings.
Metrobank has the option to upsize the planned $500 million issuance.
“This planned issuance is approved by the Bank’s President, Mr. Fabian Dee, on February 23, 2024 as part of the Bank’s $2.0 billion Medium Term Note Programme approved by its Board of Directors on March 22, 2017,” the bank said.
It added that “proceeds will be used to diversify the Bank’s funding sources while supporting its operations.”
Metrobank has mandated BofA Securities and UBS as Joint Global Coordinators and Bookrunners, and MUFG and FMIC as Joint Bookrunners. An offering may follow subject to market conditions.
The bank recently reported a 28.9 percent growth in net income to a record P42.2 billion as total consolidated assets expanded by 9.2 percent to P3.1 trillion in 2023.
Net interest income grew by 22.7 percent fueled by higher loan demand and better net interest margin of 3.9 percent.
Gross loans rose by 7.6 percent year-on-year, with consumer portfolio increasing by 15.9 percent on strong discretionary spending, outpacing the 5.5 percent rise in commercial loans.
Meanwhile, total deposits grew by 7.3 percent from the previous year to P2.4 trillion with low-cost current and savings accounts (CASA) amounting to more than 60 percent or P1.4 trillion.
Fee income increased by nine percent to P16.4 billion, largely driven by the expanding consumer business. Trading and forex gains were steady at P4 billion.