Gotianun-led EastWest Bank (EW) posted a net income of P4.9 billion in the first nine months of 2023, exceeding the full year net income of 2022. Strong loan growth pushed EW’s financial performance further, past pandemic levels. Return on equity stood at 10.3 percent.
Comparing against the same period last year, net income was higher by 60 percent from P3.0 billion, as revenues increased by 26 percent to P25.6 billion, driven mostly by the growth of its consumer lending portfolio. Its consumer lending portfolio accounts for 79 percent of total loans, grew by 26 percent led by credit cards, auto, salary and personal loan segments.
This was supported by stable funding sources as total deposits grew by 6 percent to P338.0 billion, almost entirely from CASA deposits. This allowed the Bank to sustain its net interest margin (NIM) expansion to 7.7 percent.
Meanwhile, non-interest income, grew by 59 percent to P5.1 billion. Fees and commission increased 35 percent to P3.5 billion as banking transactions grew in line with lending growth. Trading income also contributed P453.5 million to non-interest income growth, despite the volatile macroeconomic environment.
Operating expenses stood at P14.6 billion, growing by 16 percent, still driven largely by manpower, IT and business-related expenses. “We continue to invest heavily on our people and technology to enhance customer experience as their needs continuously evolve and our processes become more efficient. This aligns with our goal of becoming a consumer bank of choice, providing easier access to credit to those who need it,” EW CEO, Jerry G. Ngo said.
Total assets ended at P444.7 billion, growing by 10 percent from the same period last year, while total loans and receivables grew by 18 percent or P44.1 billion to P283.7 billion, as the Bank continued to benefit from the sustained demand for consumer loans. Meanwhile, total deposits grew 6 percent to P338.0 billion, with CASA deposits growing by 7 percent.
