Bank of Commerce Launched a P5 Billion Second Tranche Peso Bond Offering

The public offering of Bank of Commerce (BankCom), an affiliate of San Miguel Corporation, has begun for its peso bond issuance. The bonds have a minimum size of P5 billion and an oversubscription option (Series B Bonds).

The bonds are a part of BankCom's P20 billion bond program, which is in its second tranche. The 1.5-year tenor and fixed interest rate of 6.5635% annually are features of the Series B Bonds. The issuer may abbreviate the public offer period, which is set to end on May 9, 2024, but it begins on April 30. On May 16, 2024, the Series B bonds are scheduled to be issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

Reducing debt obligations will be financed with the proceeds from the bonds.
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BankCom celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023 with a P2.8 billion record-breaking net income. This was the largest growth rate reported by a listed Philippine bank for the year, up 56% from the P1.8 billion reported the year before.

Return on Equity at the end of 2023 was 9.52%, up from 7.01% the year before and more than twice the bank's ROE of 4.22% as disclosed in the IPO prospectus.

The bank's main lending operation saw an increase, which supported its record-high profit. Year over year, Net Interest Income increased by P1.61 billion, or 24%. There was growth in every lending category.
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The bank's earnings from its credit card, trust, and investment banking businesses also contributed to the rise in its service charges, fees, and commissions.

​BankCom designated Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc. (PCCI Capital) and ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch (ING). as this issuance's joint bookrunners and lead arrangers. Along with PCCI Capital and ING, BankCom is serving as a Selling Agent for the transaction.

An affiliate of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) since 2008, Bank of Commerce is a publicly-listed universal bank focused on helping its clients, communities and conglomerate partners by delivering the best choice of financial services harnessing the strengths of the SMC Group. Bank of Commerce is identified by its logo bearing the SMC symbols of escudo and cloverleaf, and by the trademark license short name "BankCom" granted by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in 2020. BankCom traces its origins to the Overseas Bank of Manila which opened in Binondo, Manila in 1963.

BankCom marked its 60th anniversary in 2023, ending the year with a record high net income of P2.8 billion, outperforming its full-year 2022 profit of P1.8 billion by 56%, the highest growth among listed Philippine banks. BankCom maintains a network of 140 branches and 250 automated teller machines (ATMs) as of March 31, 2024, strategically located nationwide.