PNB secures three-year syndicated loan
PHILIPPINE National Bank (PNB) has closed a $150-million multi-year syndicated term loan facility with regional and international banks, marking its successful return to the loan markets after over a decade.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, the Lucio C. Tan-led lender said it successfully closed and signed the three-year deal with 10 banks on April 24.
This marked PNB’s return to the syndicated loan market after more than a decade. It last tapped the loan markets in 1998.
PNB said the transaction “received overwhelming interest from the market, both regionally and internationally.”
“The diversity of the syndicate of lenders is an affirmation of the growing international market appetite for assets from the Philippines. The success of the transaction is a strong acknowledgment of the capital market’s confidence in the credit strength of the bank,” the bank said in its regulatory filing on Wednesday.
‘STRONG INTEREST’
The Lucio C. Tan-led bank said the facility attracted total commitments of $220 million at the close of syndication, representing an oversubscription of 1.5 times, with lending commitments received from ten regional and international banks.
Standard Chartered Bank was hired as the sole coordinating bank and fully underwrote the $150-million facility.
CTBC Bank Co. Ltd. Singapore, ING Bank N.V.- Manila Branch, KDB Asia Limited/The Korea Development Bank and United Overseas Bank Limited joined Standard Chartered Bank as sub-underwriters -- together, the mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners -- and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. also joined the facility as a mandated lead arranger at the close of senior syndication, the bank added.
The Lucio C. Tan- led bank said the facility also drew “strong interest” from Middle Eastern banks like the National Bank of Kuwait S. A. K. P., Singapore Branch and BBK B.S.C, who came in as lead arrangers together with Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Hong Kong branch.
The Export- Import Bank of the Republic of China also participated as an arranger, PNB added.
PNB saw its net income grow by a fifth last year, buoyed by the expansion of its main businesses which helped offset a decline in trading gains.
The listed lender said it posted a P5.5-billion net profit in 2014, an increase of 5% from the P5.2 billion it booked the year previous.
Last year, PNB undertook several capital raising activities to increase its buffers and support its expansion plans including the issuance of P7- billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit and its P10- billion stock rights offering for its thrift arm PNB Savings Bank.
Shares in PNB were last traded at P78 each on Wednesday, up 10 centavos or 0.13% from the previous day. —