Philippine Business Bank (PBB) led by bankero Rolando Avante hiked its capital to P15 billion from P10 billion to bankroll the continuing expansion of its core deposit and lending businesses.
The Board of Directors of the listed bank based in Caloocan City approved the proposed amendments to its Articles of Incorporation subject to the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“An expanded capital base will allow the Bank to grow its risk assets and provide financing to its clients,” PBB said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
The authorized capital of the country’s third largest thrift bank would consist of 1.37 billion common shares with a par value of P10 per share and 130 million preferred shares with a par value of P10 per share.
The change of the preferred shares feature from perpetual to convertible means participating preferred shareholders would have the option to convert their preferred shares to common shares.
Converting the preferred shares to common shares will lower the bank’s financing costs.
“A strong capital base will help the bank sustain its business, prepare for future growth, maximize returns, and mitigate strategic risks,” PBB added.
The Board of Directors of the listed bank owned by businessman Alfredo Yao also approved the declaration of cash dividends amounting to P118.8 million for the years 2019 to 2021 to all holders of unlisted preferred shares.
