Gotianun-led EastWestBank (EW) is poised for sustained growth this year as it grew its core revenues by 12 percent to ₱28.1 billion in 2022.
Excluding one-off items in 2021, the bank’s ₱4.6 billion net income surged 42 percent on the back of its improved earning capacity.
Total assets ended at ₱421.4 billion, with the bank’s balance sheet structure shifting largely towards higher yielding consumer lending assets. Taking advantage of the country’s economic recovery, loans grew by 20 percent bolstered by credit cards, business loans and key salary loan segments. Total deposits were steady at ₱329.2 billion with CASA ratio improving to 79 percent from the previous year’s 75 percent.
“We accelerated our loan bookings in the second half across all lending products which improved our earningcapacity back to pre-pandemic levels. We intend to exceed this in 2023, as we carry on the momentum from last year,” EW President, Jackie S. Fernandez, said.
The bank invested heavily on IT systems to help improve its digital services and prime it for faster digital innovations, increasing its operating expenses by 3 percent to ₱17.0 billion.
Its capital ratios continue to stand at a healthy 13.8 percent and 13.0 percent for Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and CommonEquityTier 1(CET1)ratio, respectively, well above the regulatory requirements.
“The full year impact of our 2022 asset build-up will be felt this year on our core income performance. The growth momentum should improve this further as we exceed pre-pandemic asset levels this year. Though we expect some headwinds particularly from the higher interest rate environment, the country’s growth prospects remain intact. We believe that EW is at the right place and at the right time, as we partner with our customers to rebuild and grow together.” newly-appointed EW Chief Executive Officer, Jerry G. Ngo concluded.
