Government raises P107 billion from Treasury bond auction

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February 19, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P107.07 billion from its 10-year Treasury bond auction yesterday, awarding only a portion of its P300-billion offer despite strong demand.

Auction data showed tenders reached P328.47 billion, more than three times the programmed offer. However, the Treasury accepted only P107.07 billion and rejected P221.39 billion as it capped yields at levels it deemed acceptable.

The bonds, which mature in 2036, carry a coupon rate of 5.925 percent. The average yield settled at 5.893 percent, with bids ranging from 5.75 percent to 5.925 percent.

The average yield was 9.2 basis points lower than the 5.985 percent fetched in the previous 10-year auction on Jan. 6.

National Treasurer Sharon Almanza said the award reflects the government’s decision to remain disciplined on pricing even amid heavy demand.

“Even 2.5 basis points is significant. That translates to additional interest payments,” she said, noting that small differences in yield can materially affect borrowing costs over a 10-year period.

Almanza attributed the strong turnout to ample liquidity in the system, including proceeds from bonds that matured earlier in the week and expectations of further policy easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“We had bonds that matured last Monday, so naturally those funds had to be reinvested,” she said. “The main factor is the expectation that policy rates will still go down. And this is a 10-year bond.”

The Treasurer added that this would be the only jumbo issuance for a new fixed-rate Treasury note this year as part of efforts to streamline outstanding securities and support liquidity in the secondary market.

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said the drop in yields came amid “unusually large” demand, as investors sought to lock in returns ahead of the widely expected 25-basis-point BSP rate cut at the Feb. 19 policy meeting.

He noted that total bids of P328.47 billion were sharply higher than the P72.67 billion recorded in the previous 10-year auction in January, reflecting strong appetite for long-term government securities.

Ricafort said the decline in yields was also supported by the recent maturity of P232.8 billion worth of seven-year Treasury bonds on Feb. 14, which added to peso liquidity in the financial system and may have been partly reinvested in the jumbo offering.