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Keisha Ta-Asan - The Philippine Star
December 1, 2025 | 12:00am
DBP executive vice president for treasury and corporate finance Carel Halog said the bank is lining up a bond issuance in 2026, likely in the second or third quarter, as part of its P120-billion bond program.
BusinessWorld / File
MANILA, Philippines — State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is preparing to tap the domestic bond market next year, timing the fund-raising with an expected easing cycle by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and a modest economic outlook, an official said.
DBP executive vice president for treasury and corporate finance Carel Halog said the bank is lining up a bond issuance in 2026, likely in the second or third quarter, as part of its P120-billion bond program.
“We’re looking (at) next year. If ever we’ll do a bond sale, we’ll do it probably in the second or third quarter,” Halog told reporters.
The lender expects economic expansion to remain subdued in 2025, with DBP president and CEO Michael de Jesus projecting a “four to five percent” output growth, which falls below the government’s 5.5 to 6.5 percent target.
Halog said weak consumer sentiment and soft government spending were weighing on economic activity. These conditions could prompt the BSP to trim policy rates three more times in the coming months.
“We’re looking at a potential two rate cuts next year…more or less that’s the signaling we’re getting from the BSP,” Halog said, noting the bank is factoring in two 25-basis-point reductions following a likely 25-bp cut on the central bank’s Dec. 11 policy meeting.
He also said that the procurement process alone would push the bond sale timeline later in the year.
“If we start in December…the procurement (finishes) around June, then we have to do paperwork. It might spill over to the third quarter. That’s the most realistic scenario,” Halog said.
DBP is also studying whether to attach a sustainability label to the issue, but Halog noted that would require extra certifications and costs. “If we want to make it cost-efficient, it’s a straightforward bond,” he said.
The amount has yet to be finalized, but Halog hinted the offer “won’t be lower than P10 billion” and “won’t be higher than P50 billion.”
Earlier in January, DBP raised P11 billion from its offering of dual-tenor fixed rate notes. The bank’s offering of fixed rate Series 6A and 6B bonds was oversubscribed by five-and-a-half times compared to the initial P2-billion program.
The Series 6A bonds, which have a tenor of 1.5 years, were priced at 6.0503 percent per annum, while the Series 6B papers, which mature in three years, carry an annual interest rate of 6.1294 percent.
DBP is the 10th largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy – infrastructure and logistics; micro, small, and medium enterprises; environment; social services and community development.
