EastWest earnings up 117% in H1

Gotianun-led East West Banking Corp. on Monday reported a 117% increase in its first-half earnings, mainly driven by the sustained momentum from its lending portfolio during the period.

In an emailed statement, EastWest said its earnings doubled to P3.3 billion, as net revenues climbed 29% to P16.3 billion, with net interest income up 18% to P13.0 billion.

Its consumer lending portfolio, which accounts for 77% of total loans, expanded by 27% driven by the credit cards, auto, and key salary loan segments. Fees and commissions jumped 70% to P2.3 billion.

“Our ramping-up initiatives on our consumer lending portfolio that started last year are now showing results. While we have surpassed our pre-pandemic peak loan levels this quarter, the work is not complete as we focus on optimizing our balance sheet structure to unlock more value,” President Jackie Fernandez said.

The lender ended the first half with P434-billion in assets, reflecting a 4.6% increase from the same period in 2022. Total loans and receivables rose by 22% to P49.8 billion.

“[W]hile we exceeded our pre-pandemic loan levels this quarter, we further managed to improve our funding mix, which is key to maintaining our industry-leading margins,” Chief Executive Officer Jerry Ngo said.

“We are also progressing steadily on our people and IT initiatives that will bring us to our net chapter of growth. We still have ways to go as far as profitability is concerned, but our bigger and stronger asset base will get us there,” he added.

EastWest is a subsidiary of Filipinvest Development Corp., a diversified conglomerate with interests in real estate, banking, hospitality and tourism, infrastructure, power generation, and sugar. — DVM, GMA Integrated News