EastWest joins global indices list

MANILA, Philippines - EastWest Banking Corp. (EastWest) has been included in the list of MSCI’s Global Small Cap Indices.

MSCI Inc. is a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, including indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics and corporate governance services. 

EastWest Bank is one of only two organizations from the Philippines that was added to the MSCI index list, placing it in the same category as similar fast-growing companies in Asia Pacific, US, Europe and Africa. Among these are Neptune Orient Lines in Singapore, Foxconn International in Hong Kong, Hopewell Hwy Infra of China, and Seiko Epson Corp. of Japan.

The MSCI Small Cap Index is designed to measure the equity performance of small cap stocks in developed and emerging markets throughout the world.

The inclusion of EastWest Bank in the MSCI global small cap index also shows that credible rating organizations are monitoring the current state of the country’s banking sector, and identifying potential and promising financial institutions and companies where investors can wisely put their investments.

The bank is currently ranked 17th in terms of assets and deposits and 15th based on total loans, out of 37 commercial and universal banks in the country.



EastWest’s capital levels have grown by 5.7 times or an annual compounded growth rate of 37 percent from P2.9 billion in 2006 to P16.5 billion in second quarter 2012, from profits, infusion by its parent – Filinvest Development Corp. and from its initial public offering (IPO).

Its assets, deposits, and loans have grown at an annual compounded growth rate of 23 percent, 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively from 2006 to second quarter of 2012 – a clear proof of the rapid growth of the company, one of the reasons EastWest Bank was included in MSCI’s global small cap index’s list that took effect end November 2012.

Aside from rapid expansion through acquisitions and mergers with other banks, another expansion program of EastWest Bank is capital buildup, which includes public listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). The universal bank is a subsidiary of the Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), the publicly listed holding company of the Filinvest Group.

source: philstar.com

EastWest Bank earnings jump 36 percent in Jul-Sep

MANILA - The banking arm of the Gotianun group on Wednesday said its third-quarter profit jumped 36 percent year-on-year on the back of higher income from its loans, fee and trading businesses.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, East West Banking Corp said it earned P446 million in the July to September period, up from P118 million last year.

EastWest said net interest income - consisting largely of gains from the bank's lending business - went up 29 percent to P1.56 billion.

Service charges, fees and commissions rose 28 percent to P492 million on the back of the growth in consumer lending and deposit-related transactions. Trading and securities gains went up five and a half times to P597 million from P108 million in third quarter last year.

The third-quarter performance increased the bank's nine-month net income by 12 percent year-on-year to P1.36 billion.

EastWest closed the third quarter with a non-performing loan ratio of 4.3 percent, down from the 4.8 percent a year ago. Its loan loss coverage stood at 91 percent of total non-performing loans.

At end-September, the bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) - a measure of solvency - stood at 19.3 percent, up from 15.5 percent a year ago and well above the 10 percent regulatory minimum. Its Tier 1 capital ratio likewise improved to 15.4 percent from 11.2 percent in 2011.

The bank ended the third quarter with 217 branches, 133 of these in Metro Manila and 107 in restricted areas. EastWest had 41 branches in other parts of Luzon, 23 in Visayas and 20 in Mindanao.

The bank listed at the PSE last May, and on November 10 ended the sale of P5 billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit, with the proceeds meant to expand EastWest Bank's lending business.

source: interaksyon.com