EastWest completes first tranche of LTNCD issue
by Madelaine B. Miraflor, Manila Times
Following its earlier announcement on its plan to offer Long Term Negotiable Certificates of Deposits (LTNCDs) of around P5 billion, East West Banking Corp. (EastWest) on Thursday disclosed that it has completed the first tranche of the issuance amounting to P1.5 billion.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), EastWest said that it has successfully completed the first tranche of its LTNCD issue, amounting to P1.5 billion.
“The bank expects to continue the issuance program in several tranches starting on the first quarter of 2013, or as it deems necessary to fund its expansion activities,†the company said.
On November 6, EastWest announced that it will offer LTNCDs worth about P5 billion, which will fall due on 2018.
In the company’s earlier disclosure to the PSE, it said that they will issue LTNCDs that have quarterly interest payments a tenor of five years and seven months.
The disclosure also said that the principal payment date is May 23, 2018, while the selling agents are Unicapital Inc. and EastWest bank itself. Unicapital also serves as the lead arranger for the transaction.
“The offer period is from November 6 to November 16, 2012 with the issue date set for November 23, 2012. The LTNCD may be issued in one or more tranches over a one-year period not to exceed P5 billion,†the disclosure said.
In the prior month, EastWest said it is planning to grow its branch network to 350 in the next two years.
The bank said in earlier reports that they remain steady in their bid to be a major industry player as they continue to aggressively expand.
EastWest opened three new branches in October 10, bringing its total branch network to 188, and for this year it plans to open a total of 100 branches and grow its network to 350 by 2014.
