EastWest Bank seeks regulatory approval for capital hike

EastWest Banking Corp. is seeking the regulatory approval to increase its capital stock by as much as P10 billion in preparation for the Basel III implementation starting Jan. 1, 2014.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, EastWest bank said its board authorized to issue Basel III compliant securities up to the amount of P10 billion in one or more tranches.

"We shall disclose the terms thereof as soon as we secure the corresponding regulatory approval," the disclosure read.

The bank noted that the issuance is part of its regulatory capital compliance with Basel III capital guidelines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and to manage the bank’s capital base for its growth.

The BSP earlier released a circular stipulating that banks must make the necessary amendments to its Articles of Incorporation to accommodate such a conversion by January 2014.

In the first half of the year, EastWest reported a 40-percent increase in net income to P1.28 billion, revenues surged 59 percent to P7.1 billion, while its assets grew by 41 percent to P130.9 billion.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio remained more than adequate at 16.8 percent as of the end of the first semester. — Danessa Rivera/KBK, GMA News