PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp. (RCBC) is set to return to the offshore bond market and is looking to raise at least $500 million from an offering of senior unsecured sustainability notes.

The benchmark-sized bonds will be offered under the bank’s $3-billion medium-term note program, the Yuchengco-led bank said in a disclosure to the local bourse on Monday.

The bonds will be issued under RCBC’s Sustainable Finance Framework.

The note offering circular will uploaded to and in accordance with the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd.’s rules, RCBC said.

The bank was scheduled to hold investor calls on the offer on Monday.

RCBC has tapped Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., and SMBC Nikko Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd. as the joint bookrunners for the offering, it said on Monday.

The lender in 2020 increased the size of its medium-term bond program to $3 billion from $2 billion previously.

So far, RCBC has raised $1.6 billion from the offshore debt market under its current medium-term note program, with its last offering held in August 2020, from which it raised $300 million through Tier 1 securities.

The bank saw its net income decline by 28.35% year on year to P2.81 billion in the third quarter as its interest expenses more than doubled and as non-interest income declined.

RCBC’s shares went up by five centavos or 0.22% to end at P22.90 apiece on Monday. — AMCS