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A sharper strategy for bond investors in Q1
The recently released borrowing schedule offers opportunities for bond investors
By Earl Andrew A. Aguirre
For the first time, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has announced specific bond series months in advance, and not a week prior to auction.
What does this mean?
It means there is a strategic opportunity for investors to plan their bond investments more precisely. It means more liquidity, easier to buy and sell bonds. It will help them manage their cash and give them clues to the yields or returns.
Our bond traders believe that the BTr has started to disclose the security series in order to establish deeper benchmarks for their offerings, as opposed to previous auctions which sometimes reissued totally different bonds of similar tenors.
More liquidity
A benchmark is a standard. Certain government bonds become the benchmark that institutions use to price financial instruments such as corporate bonds and mortgages. Deeper benchmarks mean the government will sell more of the same specific bond series, leading to more liquidity as investors with benchmark bonds can easily buy and sell them at a fair price.
Here is a list of the old and new benchmark bonds:
Outgoing Benchmarks
| Benchmark Tenor | Bond Shortname | Int’l Securities Identification Number | Maturity Date | Gross Coupon Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Years | FXTN 7-64 | PIBD0728D649 | 22-Apr-28 | 3.625% |
| 5 Years | FXTN 7-70 | PH0000057218 | 27-Jul-30 | 6.375% |
| 7 Years | FXTN 10-69 | PIBD1032I695 | 15-Sep-32 | 6.750% |
| 10 Years | FXTN 10-73* | PH0000060345 | 28-Apr-35 | 6.375% |
New and Retained Benchmarks
| Benchmark Tenor | Bond Shortname | Int’l Securities Identification Number | Maturity Date | Gross Coupon Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Years | FXTN 7-65 | PIBD0728H654 | 12-Aug-28 | 3.750% |
| 5 Years | FXTN 7-71 | PH0000058125 | 18-Jan-31 | 6.125% |
| 7 Years | FXTN 20-20 | PIBD2033C206 | 21-Mar-33 | 3.625% |
| 10 Years | To be auctioned on 18 Feb 2026 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 20 Years | FXTN 20-27 | PH0000058786 | 23-May-44 | 6.875% |
| 25 Years | FXTN 25-12 | PH0000059891 | 30-Jan-50 | 6.375% |
*Note that FXTN 10-73 will continue to be the 10-year benchmark until a new bond will be auctioned on February 18, 2026. FXTNs 20-27 and 25-12 will also remain the 20- and 25-year benchmarks, respectively. However, unlike in older borrowing schedules, the BTr did not disclose how much volume of each bond or tenor it plans to award. Instead, the BTr has just announced the aggregate volume per month – up to PHP 160 billion, PHP 200 billion, and PHP 140 billion for January, February, and March, respectively. This is expected to give the BTr more flexibility in in deciding which bonds and tenors should receive more supply.
If you have a bond portfolio to manage, you can take a look at the BTr’s borrowing schedule for the first quarter of 2026.
If you wish to start your wealth journey with us and safeguard your bond portfolio, you may go to any Metrobank branch.
(Disclaimer: This is general investment information only and does not constitute an offer or guarantee, with all investment decisions made at your own risk. The bank takes no responsibility for any potential losses.)
EARL ANDREW “EA” AGUIRRE is the Head of the Investment Counselor Department under the Financial Markets Sector of Metrobank. He has more than a decade of experience in foreign exchange, fixed income securities, and derivatives sales. He has a Master’s in Business Administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. His interests include regularly traveling to Japan and learning its language and culture.