Citi
Citi emerges as the unalloyed leader in this category – and for good reason. The US lender, which boasts 7,600 staff in the cities such as Manila, San Juan and Cebu, is as committed to the Philippines as ever, a permanent fixture on the banking scene, offering world-class financial services to consumers and corporates alike.
Citi enables more than 1 million affluent individuals to access wealth management and credit payment products. Its services are used daily by every strata of the economy: it extends corporate and investment banking services, and treasury and trade solutions, to foreign multinationals and top-tier local corporates, and to the public sector and leading local financial institutions.
There are few areas that the bank, a large distributor of credit cards and a local pioneer in business process outsourcing and online and mobile banking, does not lead. And it’s as willing as ever to open up its pocket book for valued clients and to maximize its global reach and clout.
A few recent transactions – plucked from a list of many – stand out. In October 2016, Citi acted as bookrunner for a targeted repurchase of International Container Terminal Services’ non-call 2019 and non-call 2021 perpetual bonds, via a tender offer. In January 2017, it led the Republic of the Philippines’ successful return to the international capital markets with a $2 billion sale of 25-year notes that was nine times subscribed. The same month, it acted as joint bookrunner on BDO Unibank’s $1.2 billion rights offer, prompting BDO to praise the US lender for its “invaluable support, credit and advice”.