East West Bank nets P1.5B as of October, down 6.1%

Gotianun-led East West Bank chalked up a net profit of P1.5 billion as of October, 6.1 percent lower year on year as lower trading gains tempered the bottom-line impact of improved core businesses.

The January-to-October performance translated to a return-on-equity of 16.58 percent and return on assets of 1.91 percent, making it one of the country’s top-performing banks.

East West bank president Antonio Moncupa Jr. said, “We are pleased with our operating results. Our core banking businesses continue to grow and core productivity is improving. We are looking forward to ending the year with above average returns for our shareholders.”

The bank’s net revenues as of October reached P5.9 billion, lower by 5.1 percent compared to the same period last year, due to lower trading income.

Net interest income went up by 11.4 percent to P3.9 billion during the 10-month period as the bank improved its lending businesses and management of its cost of funds despite lower loan yields.

The bank grew its loan book by 21.6 percent to P43.7 billion as of end-October from the level a year ago.

Total consumer loans reached P23.4 billion, up by 18.3 percent year on year, which the bank attributed to the strong performance of its auto loans and credit card businesses.

Total corporate loans likewise rose by 20.8 percent to P22.9 billion from a year ago.

Outside of its lending and trading businesses, non-interest income went up by 1.5 percent to P1.4 billion.  Meanwhile, trading gains for the first 10 months shrunk by 52.6 percent to P673 million, tracking industry

performance, coming from an extraordinarily high trading income period for banks in 2010.

The bank’s total resources hit P88 billion as of October, higher by 14.8 percent than a year ago.

Part of its assets was funded by P67.3 billion in deposits, which increased by 12.8 percent from a year ago.