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UnionBank Returns to the PDEx Organized Secondary Market with its Second Bond Issuance
Posted on: June 3, 2019
03 June 2019, Makati Philippines – Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) returned to the PDEx organized secondary market for the listing of its 3-year PhP 5.8 billion second bond issuance. This followed UnionBank’s maiden issuance of PhP 11 billion in December 2018.
UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista led the ringing of the ceremonial bell to herald the start of trading of the UnionBank Bonds Due 2022.
Today’s listing brings the year-to-date volume of new listings to PHP 154.5 Billion and the total corporate tradable debt instruments listed or enrolled at PDEx to PHP 1.166 Trillion, an 11% increase from year end 2018.
Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. President and COO Antonino Nakpil remarked: “We note that this second bond issuance of Union Bank was oversubscribed and upsized from the initial size of PHP 3 Billion. We trust that this would clearly dispel any notion that Union Bank’s support from its bondholders is virtual.”
“As we have said previously, we are keen observers of Union Bank’s progress as it leads its peer banks in exploring the bounds and applications of the new financial technologies in banking and payment systems, the so-called digital transformation. We monitor these developments with the belief that all advances in the payments space will apply to and cascade into the area of settlement systems and ultimately have the potential to reshape the market frameworks as we know them today,” Mr. Nakpil added.
For UnionBank’s part, Senior Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Jose Emmanuel Hilado said: “UBP is happy to list the 3-Year P 5.8 B Peso Corporate Bond which was upsized from the original P 3 B issue amount. This will be an on-going program for the Bank due to the regulatory incentive of having a lower reserve requirement at 6% versus the usual 17%. This also provides local investors with an alternative investment product that can be traded in the secondary market.”
Other key executives present during the listing ceremony include UnionBank Financial Controller Francis Albalate and Deputy Treasurer Raquel Palang. Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners led by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited Head of Wholesale Banking Michael Brennan, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Markets Dondi Baltazar and ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch Diversified Corporates Director Rowena P. Bayoneta and Financial Markets Sales Director Jessica Chico were also in attendance. #