UCPB to issue P3-B negotiable certificates of deposits

State-controlled United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) on Wednesday said it will issue this month P3 billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of deposits or LTNCDs to beef up its lending operations and deposit base. Money from the certificates of deposits will give the bank more funds for lending to the middle market and consumer sector, UCPB executive vice president and treasurer Eulogio Catabran said. “We are already finalizing the pricing and timing of the issue with our financial advisors and will make an announcement on the yield and offering period next week," Catabran said in a statement. UCPB has hired Citicorp Capital Philippines Inc. as arranger of the LTNCD offering, with UCPB, Multinational Investment Bancorporation, and Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines Inc. as selling agents, Ricardo Lipatan, UCPB corporate communications head, told GMANews.TV. The central bank approved the P3-billion issue last week, he added. The LTNCD offering will appeal to individual investors that stand to benefit the most from the tax-exempt earnings of the investment, Catabran said. “LTNCDs will generate keen interest from corporate and institutional investors who are looking for alternative low-risk but high-yield investment outlets to diversify their investment portfolios," according to the statement, quoting Catabran. An LTCND is like a time deposit, except that it has a longer maturity of at least five years and one day, making the instrument tax-exempt. Unlike a regular time deposit, an LTCND cannot be pre-terminated. It can be used as a negotiable instrument that can be sold to other investors or as loan collateral. UCPB’s deposits totaled 14.4 billion as of end-June this year, up by 12 percent from the same period last year. In the same period, the bank’s loan portfolio expanded by 20 percent to P48.2 billion. Profits from loans grew to P1.306 billion in the first six months from a loss of P172 million a year earlier. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV