EastWest Bank's first quarter income up 60%

First quarter net income of EastWest Bank has increased by 60 percent, from last year's P460 million to this year's P735 million, the bank said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.   The Gotianun-led bank also said its total assets stood at P118.6 billion as of March 2013, or 34 percent higher from a year ago, due to the 54-percent growth of its loan portfolio. The increase in the loan portfolio was “comprised mostly of loans to consumers followed by exposure to mid-market corporate borrowers,” EastWest said. “Consumer loans grew by 44 percent year-on-year while corporate loans grew 70 percent year-on-year, as the bank expanded its corporate lending organization three fold,” it added. Consumer loans still take up more than half of EastWest's loan portfolio at 55 percent of total customer loans. Deposits, meanwhile, stood at P86.7 billion, up by 32 percent from the same period last year due largely to the expanded branch store network. Low-cost deposits also increased 51 percent year-on-year and accounted for 54 percent of total deposits, the bank said. “The EastWest engine is running on all cylinders. We have the momentum and we plan to take advantage of the country’s favorable economic climate. We will continue our aggressive infrastructure build-up and business development efforts and further strengthen our governance practices.” Tony Moncupa, EastWest president and chief executive, said. — KBK, GMA News