BDO raises $600 million from dollar note issuance

BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO) has raised US$600 million from its issuance of Fixed Rate Senior Notes under the bank’s Medium-Term Note Program.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, BDO said the transaction was oversubscribed, with orders reaching US$2.9 billion, equivalent to almost 5 times the offered amount.

The issue has a coupon rate of 2.125 percent per annum and a tenor of 5.5 years. The bonds were rated "Baal" by Moody's.

“The Senior Note issue is part of the Bank's liability management initiatives to tap longer-term funding sources to support dollardenominated projects,” BDO said.

Standard Chartered Bank acted as sole global coordinator, while Standard Chartered Bank and Merrill Lynch (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. acted as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers for the transaction.

Last June 26, BDO had also successfully raised ₱36 billion through the issuance of fixed rate bonds.

The bank said that the amount is more than seven times the original offer of ₱5 billion, on robust demand from individual and institutional investors.

The bonds were exclusively offered through BDO Trust & Investments Group and BDO Private Bank Trust.

The bonds have a tenor of 1.75 years and a coupon rate of 3.125 percent per annum. Interest will be paid quarterly, calculated on a 30/360 count basis.

BDO said the bond issuance is part of the bank’s continuing efforts to diversify its funding sources and support its lending activities.