EastWest Bank offering P5-billion LTNCDs until Nov. 16

EastWest Bank has begun offering P5-billion long-term negotiable certificates of deposits (LTNCDs) until Nov. 16, Friday next week. The issue date for the long-term NCDs is set for Nov. 23, the bank said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). According to EastWest corporate planning officer Aerol Paul Banal, the certificates will have a five-year, six-month tenor and will start paying principal on May 23, 2018. The LTNCDs may be issued in one or more tranches over a one-year period. The issue size will be up to P5 billion, with minimum deposits of P50,000 and P10,000 increments. The interest is on a fixed-rate basis subject to market conditions. EastWest Bank is a subsidiary of the Gotianun-controlled Filinvest Development Corp. With its universal bank license recently confirmed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, EastWest is preparing to expand by opening 100 branches in 2012 and another 100 in 2013. — BM, GMA News