Gotianun-led EastWest Banking Corporation (EW) broke its two-year downswing and reported a 32 percent growth to P6.1 billion net income last year on the back of sustained consumer loan growth and strong deposit generation. 

“We witnessed significant growth in our major assets, our consumer loans portfolio. This translated to a remarkable jump in our net income as we doubled down on our strength in consumer lending,” EW President Jackie S. Fernandez said. 

She added that, “We reversed our two years of continuous decline and resumed our quest to be one of the top consumer banks in the country.”

“We entered 2024 with good momentum, but much work still needs to be done in growing and improving the Bank. We need to rise further, face the challenges and potential headwinds. Our goal is clear, to become one of the top consumer banks in the Philippines,” EW Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jerry G. Ngo noted.

Net revenues increased by 26 percent to P35.7 billion, driven largely by its consumer lending portfolio which grew by 25 percent. The consumer lending portfolio of EW accounts for 80 percent of total loans, the highest proportion among its peer banks. 

This was supported by stable funding sources as total deposits grew by 8 percent to P356.5 billion, accounted for mainly by CASA deposits, which grew by 12 percent to P292.4 billion. 

The increase in CASA, surpassing industry growth of 3 percent, can be attributed to the Bank’s renewed focus on cash management services, specifically geared towards the MSME sector. This allowed the Bank to sustain its net interest margin (NIM) of 7.6 percent.

Meanwhile, non-interest income, jumped 51 percent to P7.4 billion with fees and commission increasing by 26 percent to P4.8 billion as banking transactions grew in line with lending growth. 

Trading income also contributed P993.6 million to non-interest income growth, growing more than five times from 2022.

Operating expenses stood at P20.3 billion, growing by 19 percent, driven largely by higher manpower and information technology costs to expand capacity and improve efficiency, and business-related expenses associated with lending initiatives. 

Total assets ended at P464.2 billion, growing by 10 percent from the same period last year, while total loans and receivables grew by 15 percent to P296.6 billion, as the Bank benefited from the strong demand for consumer loans. 

Meanwhile, total deposits grew eight percent to P356.5 billion. Capital ratios continue to stand at a healthy 13.8 percent and 13.0 percent for Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, respectively, well above the regulatory requirements.