EastWest to issue P5B worth of long-term deposit notes

Gotianun-led EastWest Banking Corp. has announced a plan to issue P5 billion in deposit certificates to bolster its asset base and prepare for an expansion in its loan portfolio.

In a disclosure on Thursday, the newly listed firm said its board had approved the issuance of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCD) this year.

“We will disclose the terms (of the issue) as soon as we secure the corresponding regulatory approval,” it said.

As of the end of the first quarter, EastWest Bank had an asset base of P86.6 billion, which was up 14 percent from year-ago level.

This helped drive an expansion in the bank’s consumer loan portfolio where margins were higher. This portfolio, which consists of credit cards, auto, personal loans and mortgages, posted a 25.7-percent growth in the period.

The company also saw its loans to businesses growing, albeit at a more modest pace of 6.6 percent, as the bank reduced its exposure to top-tier corporations—where margins are lower—as it concentrated efforts on mid-sized enterprises.

As a result, the company grew its first-quarter net profit by 4.9 percent year on year to P464 million, translating to a return on equity of 16.45 percent and return on assets of 2.05 percent—which were both higher than industry averages.

“What is important to us at this point is to build our revenue base. To do that, we will continue expanding our national footprint of branches and increase our coverage of the consumer and mid-sized corporate lending businesses and further improve customer service,” EastWest Bank president Antonio Moncupa Jr. had said earlier.