While Gotianun-led East West Banking Corp. (EastWest) said the bank’s exposure to the flood control corruption issue is limited, its chief noted that the matter is now the first question raised by foreign investors.

“We have very limited exposure to the corruption issue because our focus is consumption. But it affects the entire economy,” EastWest Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jerry Ngo said last week.

“It’s quite sad, especially when I speak to foreign investors—before we even start the conversation, that’s the first thing they ask. So it’s a bit challenging,” Ngo added, noting that the news cycle surrounding the flood control controversy keeps dragging on.

“To be fair, I actually think it’s a great opportunity for the country, once and for all, to reset,” the CEO said.

Despite the ongoing probe into the alleged corruption in infrastructure spending—which has consequently hurt investor sentiment—Ngo asserted that EastWest’s growth will remain resilient as it is mainly driven by consumption. “That’s 80-plus percent of our business,” he said.

Ngo said the bank remains optimistic, aiming for a steady 10- to 15-percent growth throughout the business cycle. “A good-performing bank in the consumer market needs to grow at a regular pace over time.”

Among the major drivers Ngo is looking at is the country’s favorable median age of 26 years old.

Additionally, the executive believes further monetary policy easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would bolster private consumption. The BSP recently brought the key interest rate down to 4.75 percent, signaling further easing ahead.

EastWest is also banking on the growing role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in sustaining the economy. Much of the bank’s consumer lending has already been supporting SMEs, Ngo said.

“We’ve already realized that a lot of our customers are using our services for their own businesses. Our personal loan business is being used for SME funding,” he said.

The bank has teamed up with Visa to roll out BizAccess Visa Debit, a new business solution that comes with a checking account, digital tools, and other features specifically tailored to entrepreneurs.

Business owners may issue up to 10 cards to their staff, making it easier to manage expenses and monitor transactions under one account. The card also comes with travel accident insurance, transaction notifications, and access to exclusive Visa promos and rewards for SME clients.

“Our consumer portfolio is now 84 percent of our total book, but a lot of that is being used for businesses. What we’re hoping to do through this new set of products and services is to formalize that,” Ngo said.

Visa Philippines Clients Head Sid Bada said the company has invested a ₱100-million accelerator fund to help bring SMEs into the digital economy. This would allow Visa to track, monitor, and analyze more data to support SME growth in the coming years.