MANILA - BDO Unibank, the country's largest lender, said Friday it more than doubled the size of its long-term negotiable certificates of deposit issue to P11.8 billion due to strong demand.

The instrument, the largest single issuance of its kind by a local bank, has a term of 5 and 1/2 years with interest set at 3.625 percent per annum, BDO said.

The initial P5-billion offer was oversubscribed, the bank said.

Interest income is tax exempt for individual investors if held for at least 5 years, interest will be paid quarterly and deposit insurance coverage is set at a maximum P500,000 per depositor.

BDO shares were down 0.23 percent to P129.70 on Friday.