State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) urged its depositors and the public to avail of the Bureau of Treasury’s (BTr) “Progreso Bonds” (Retail Treasury Bonds Tranche 24) and help the government raise funds for vital projects to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, a top official said.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said for a minimum amount of P5,000, the public would have the chance to invest in a safe and higher-yielding instrument, which fetches an annual fixed interest rate of 2.625 percent, payable quarterly over the next five years.
“We urge the public to invest in RTB-24 as it will fund priority health initiatives to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 crisis and to extend support to returning overseas Filipino workers and small and medium enterprises,” Herbosa said.
The “Progreso Bonds” is the 24th issuance under the RTB Program since its inception in 2001 and the second issuance of RTBs in 2020. It is a five-year government-issued debt security, especially designed for retail investors.
DBP along with Land Bank of the Philippines are joint lead issue managers with eight other financial firms as issue managers. The government expects to raise a minimum of P30-billion from the latest bond offering, though it awarded more than P192-billion in RTBs in BTr’s auction last July 16.
Herbosa said the BTr would also allow holders of previously issued bonds, namely, RTB 10-01, FXTN 05-73, RTB 10-02, and FXTN 07-57 to exchange and reinvest their bond holdings for the RTB-24.
He said interested investors may purchase the bonds over the counter through any of the 129 branches of DBP as well as from those of participating financial institutions.
DBP First Vice President for Corporate Finance Francis Nicolas M. Chua said DBP expects that investors’ appetite for Progreso Bonds will rise in the coming days as the BTr anticipates more orders during the offer period which will run from July 16 until August 7 of this year.
“The public can also purchase the Progreso Bonds through the RTB online ordering facility at the BTr website (www.treasury.gov.ph/rtb) and via the BONDS.PH mobile application,” Chua said.
# # #