Bank of Commerce Successfully Lists its P6.57 Billion Second Tranche Bond Issue at 1.3x Oversubscribed

Bank of Commerce (BankCom), San Miguel Corporation's banking arm, successfully listed its P6.57 billion 1.5-year Series B Bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx), with the aggregate orderbook exceeding the original target issue size by 1.3 times, indicating strong demand from institutional and retail investors. 

“We are overwhelmed by the market’s response on our second Peso bond issuance. We truly appreciate the confidence shown by both institutional and retail investors in BankCom’s performance, and steeper trajectory of growth since we listed our maiden bond offering in 2022,” BankCom President Michaelangelo Aguilar said.
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BankCom's bond was launched on April 30, 2024, with a coupon rate of 6.5635% per year until 2025. Minimum denominations were set at P100,000, with increments of P50,000 afterward. On May 16, 2024, the bonds were listed on the PDEx.

The Series B Bonds are the second tranche of BankCom's P20 billion Bond Programme. The proceeds from this offering will be utilized to refinance maturing loan obligations.

BankCom celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2023 with a record-high net income of P2.8 billion. This was a 56% increase over the previous year's P1.8 billion, making it the greatest growth rate reported by a listed Philippine bank for the year.
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At the end of 2023, the bank's Return on Equity was 9.52%, up from 7.01% the previous year and more than doubling its IPO prospectus ROE of 4.22%.

The bank's record-high profit was driven by growth in its main lending sector. Net interest income increased by P1.61 billion, or 24%, year over year. Growth was seen in all lending areas. 

Service charges, fees, and commissions increased as the bank's investment banking, credit card, and trust divisions generated money.

“We thank the investors for their trust and recognition of BankCom’s credit-worthiness, stability, and strong commitment to achieving our business plans and objectives,” Aguilar said. 
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BankCom has selected ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch (ING) and Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc. (PCCI Capital) as Joint Lead Arrangers, Joint Bookrunners, and Selling Agents for the Offering. BankCom also served as a selling agent for the offer. Series B Bonds are exempt from registration under Section 9.1(e) of the Securities Regulation Code, and have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

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 maintains a network of 140 branches and 250 automated teller machines (ATMs) as of March 31, 2024, strategically located nationwide.