Two Philippine banks –  Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation ( RCBC ) and BDO Unibank– accessed the peso bond market to raise sustainability bonds as part of their commitments to sustainable financing.

RCBC announced on July 17 that it had priced a 12.21 billion Philippine peso ( US$21.20 million ) Asean sustainability bond with a tenor of three years and a coupon of 6% per annum.

Strong demand from investors resulted in an order book more than four times its announced minimum issue size of 3 billion pesos following the conclusion of its offering on July 9. The proceeds from the offering will be used to finance or refinance the eligible green and social project categories as described in bank’s sustainable finance framework.

The latest bond issuance forms part of RCBC’s 200-billion-peso bond and commercial paper programme. The offering marks the eighth time that the bank has tapped the peso bond market and brings the total amount raised by RCBC from all bond issuances since 2019 to 99.01 billion pesos, an amount that demonstrates the investors’ confidence in the various initiatives RCBC has undertaken to fuel its growth.

Standard Chartered and RCBC Capital Corporation acted as the joint lead arrangers and bookrunners for the transaction, with Standard Chartered and RCBC acting as the selling agents.

This is the second time in 2025 that RCBC has issued a sustainability bond, and it follows the US$350 million deal the bank printed in January and reinforces its commitment to supporting its clients' sustainable initiatives and advancing the Philippines’ sustainability goals.

Strong demand from both retail and institutional investors also met the sustainability bond offering of BDO Unibank as it shortened its offering period by a week to July 14 instead of July 22.

The bank initially announced on July 9 in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it would launch a minimum aggregate issue size of 5 billion pesos worth of Asean sustainability bonds. This represented its fourth peso-denominated bond in such format in more than three years, following its issuances of 55.7 billion pesos in July 2024, 63.3 billion pesos in January 2024 and 52.7 billion pesos in January 2022.

BDO’s latest Asean sustainability bond has a tenor of one-and-a-half years and bears a coupon rate of 5.875% per annum. The net proceeds of the issuance are intended to finance and/or refinance eligible assets as defined in the bank’s sustainable finance framework, support its lending activities and diversify its funding sources.

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) has confirmed that the proposed issuance complies with the requirements set forth under the Asean Sustainability Bond Standards and the SEC Asean Sustainability Bond Circular.

ING Bank ( Manila branch ) was the sole arranger and sustainability coordinator for the transaction, as well as a selling agent along with BDO. BDO Capital & Investment Corporation acted as the financial adviser for the deal.