Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said Friday it raised P33.7 billion from the issuance of sustainability bonds on strong take-up from retail and institutional buyers.
BPI treasurer Dino Gasmen said during the bond listing ceremony at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. the offering was 6.7 times oversubscribed from an initial issue price of P5 billion.
The BPI SEED (sustainable, environmental and equitable development) bonds due 2026 represents the third tranche of the bank’s P100-billion bond program approved by its board of directors in 2022.
The BPI SEED Bonds, the bank’s foray in the sustainable bond format, is also its largest thematic bond issuance to date.
BPI said it would use the net proceeds to finance or refinance new or existing eligible green and/or social projects as defined under, and consistent with, BPI’s Sustainable Funding Framework.
“BPI is committed to integrating sustainability in how we do business. The net proceeds from BPI SEED Bonds will enable us to foster sustainable development that will contribute to building a better, more resilient Philippines,” said Gasmen.
Gasmen said while the bank wanted to issue bonds on a quarterly basis, it is difficult to find green assets to use the money for, despite the recent increase in the number of borrowers.
He said there is still a need to increase the awareness of borrowers to develop projects that would qualify as green assets.
“That is why part of our advocacy is to teach the borrowers how they make their borrowing conform with sustainability standard,” Gasmen said.
The BPI SEED Bonds, now tradable on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., have a term of 1.5 years and bear an interest rate of 6.2 percent per annum, payable quarterly.
BPI Capital Corp. and Standard Chartered Bank served as the joint lead arrangers and selling agents of the offering.
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