East West Bank doubles branches to 245

MANILA, Philippines—The Gotianun-led East West Bank doubled the number of its branches to 245 in 2012 in line with plans to build a 350-strong local distribution channel to support further growth objectives by 2014.

In a disclosure posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, EastWest said it opened 123 new branches—which the bank calls as “stores”—in different areas in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in 2012.  As of the end of 2011, its distribution channels numbered only 122.

“EastWest’s commitment to its shareholders is to open new stores around the country at a rapid pace, which it has fervently pursued,” the bank said.

The bank said it would continue its “store” expansion and grow the network to at least 350 by 2014 as committed when it went public in 2012.

Last November, EastWest was included in the MSCI Global Small Cap indices list. MSCI is a trusted and leading provider of investment decision support tools to investors globally, including asset managers, banks, hedge funds and pension funds. The MSCI Small Cap Index measures the equity performance of small cap stocks in developed and emerging markets around the world.

In October 2012, EastWest was named by financial magazine The Asian Banker as the sixth-strongest bank in the Philippines.

Late last year, EastWest announced its offering of P5 billion worth of Long-Term Negotiable Certificates of Time Deposit (LTNCD), which will mature in five years. The first tranche was issued in November totaling P1.5 billion.

From January to September last year, East West grew its net income by 12 percent year on year to P1.36 billion. It expanded its loan book by 36.1 percent year on year to P60.97 billion.