PHILIPPINE SAVINGS Bank began offering P8 billion worth of stock rights on Monday.

PHILIPPINE Savings Bank (PSBank) started its P8-billion stock rights offering (SRO) yesterday, with proceeds to be used to support the lender’s growth.
PSBank, the thrift banking arm of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), will offer 184.7 million common shares equivalent to its remaining unissued shares through an SRO which will run from Jan. 7-11.
The shares are priced at P56 apiece.
In a Dec. 14 filing, PSBank said the proceeds from the capital-raising activity will be used to “strengthen its CET1 (common equity Tier 1) capital, further solidifying the bank’s capital adequacy and financial strength.”
In particular, the additional funds will be used to support the bank’s expected asset growth, primarily in consumer loans.
In a previous interview, PSBank President Jose Vicente L. Alde said the lender is expecting better loan growth for this year as decelerating inflation coupled with other economic conditions translate to softer loan rates.
PSBank has tapped First Metro Investment Corp. to be the issue manager and underwriter of the offer, while Metrobank’s Trust Banking Group will serve as the stock transfer agent.
Local banks have been conducting various fund-raising activities to meet the tighter risk management requirements by the central bank under the international Basel 3 standard.
Last September, the Ty-led savings bank announced it will issue medium-term notes amounting to P10 billion to “give PSBank an opportunity to access medium-term and stable funding as the bank further expand its consumer banking business.”
Prior to this, it raised P5.08 billion in August through the issuance of long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits which carry a 5% coupon.
PSBank booked a P2.03-billion net income in the first nine months of 2018, 8.1% higher than the P1.88 billion logged in the comparable year-ago period, supported by sustained loan growth and higher fee-based revenues.
Shares in PSBank closed at P59.55 each on Monday, up P2.05 or 3.57% from the previous finish. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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