Manila, Philippines - Vice President
Jejomar Binay urged yesterday the Filipino people to invest in BahayBonds for
as low as P5,000.
Binay, chairman of the Housing and
Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said the BahayBonds Series 2
(BB2) is a “safe and profitable investment alternative.”
“This is a great way to induce
Filipinos to start saving, especially in light of the recent Bangko Sentral
survey that most heads of Filipino households do not save,” Binay said.
The invitation to retail investors
followed the announced issuance of P600 million worth of BB2 classified as
residential mortgage backed securities mid-August of this year by the state-run
National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC).
Binay, who also serve as Chairman of
the NHMFC Board of Directors, said the BahayBonds2 would be the first-ever
retail housing asset-backed securities in the Philippine market.
He said it would be backed up by an
asset pool composed of high quality accounts from the corporation’s prime
assets.
The BB2 targets retail investors and
are designed to be a safe, high yielding and affordable savings instrument.
“With a 4.80-percent interest rate,
the bonds are higher than most interest rates on bank deposits. Coupled with a
tax-free guaranteed return, this first retail mortgage bond would be the most
attractive investment for individual investors who want to maximize their
profits,” Binay said.
“This is a good venture for overseas
Filipinos, government employees, or every common Juan who do not save because
they are not enticed by the interest rates offered by traditional institutions
like banks,” Binay added.
The BB2 offers the privilege of free
ATM-accessible savings accounts and the convenience of balance inquiry through internet
and phone banking facilities both with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
Binay said its current market value is
readily available due to Philippine Dealing Exchange listing and instant loan
facility against latest market value.
“As a bonus, house and lot units will
be raffled for active accounts,” Binay said.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
considered BB2 as risk free because the securitized loans guaranteed by the
Home Guaranty Corporation carry the sovereign guaranty of the Republic of the
Philippines.
The transaction is classified into
three tranches. Majority of the issues
classified as Class A senior notes would be sold to retail investors, Class B
Senior Notes would be sold to qualified institutional investors while Class C
Subordinated Notes would be kept by NHMFC.
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