Banco de Oro Unibank Inc., the country?s largest bank, plans to raise as much as P13 billion in additional capital this year through the issuance of tier 2 capital and a rights offering, the bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The bank said its board of directors approved the capital- raising activities in a meeting Saturday ?in anticipation of business growth, network and investment expansion opportunities during the year.?

?We have already digested the problems resulting from the 2008 financial crisis, and they are now behind us. We are looking forward to opportunities that may arise this year,? BDO chairman Teresita Sy Coson said.

SM Investments Corp. chief financial officer Jose Sio said they remained bullish on the bank and the banking industry in general. ? We believe the current situation presents opportunities for the bank to further consolidate its position,? Sio said.

The bank said it would issue its third tranche of tier 2 notes amounting to as much as P5 billion and plan a rights offer in the next six months to raise P7 billion to P8 billion in capital. The rights offer will involve the offering of common shares to existing shareholders of the bank.

Proceeds of the rights offering will be used for general corporate purposes, projects or investments and initiatives for expansion. A rights offer represent tier 1 capital that will allow the bank to issue additional tier 2 notes in the future. Eileen A. Mencias