EastWest Bank confident in sustaining double-digit profit growth

East West Banking Corp. is confident that the bank’s double-digit net income growth in 2024 will be sustainable, driven by its core businesses, unless international trade issues or other external developments disrupt the local economy.

During the EastWest Bank 2025 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting (ASM) on April 24, EastWest Bank CEO Jerry G. Ngo said that the Philippines will likely perform relatively well, “barring any extraneous impacts,” including the ongoing tariff wars.

“What gives us confidence really, at least for EastWest, is the quality of our growth that was not really reliant on any one-time gains. It’s all focused predominantly on core businesses.

EastWest Bank’s net income climbed by 25 percent annually to an all-time high of ₱7.6 billion in 2024 on the back of its core businesses.

“A lot of this is grounded on the growth of our core businesses. We saw strong momentum in credit cards, in personal loans [and] teacher salary loans,” Ngo noted.

“Together, these businesses now make more than half of our customer loan portfolio. The growth was underpinned by around 19-percent increase in revenues in total, and 13-percent in terms of asset growth,” he added.

Notably, the bank has also improved its cost-to-income ratio from over 60 percent initially to around 55 percent, which is now below the market median of approximately 56 percent.

According to Ngo, EastWest Bank’s 2024 performance was not merely a rebound, noting that its net income growth was 31 percent two years ago and 25 percent last year, showing consistently strong results.

Likewise, EastWest Bank is eyeing an initial ₱10 billion bond issuance under a larger shelf registration program. While the total size of the shelf will be higher, the timing of the issuance will be opportunistic and depend on market interest rates.

“It really depends on where the interest rates are at the moment. Our CASA [current and savings account] ratio is still fairly strong. Our funding base is stable. We are growing in line with what our asset growth is. I think that that can still be sustained quite well,” Ngo noted.

Additionally, while Ngo did not say EastWest will surpass its 2024 margins, he’s confident about the bank’s margins amid Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) easing cycle. It recently slashed the key interest rate to 5.50 percent from 5.75 percent.

EastWest Bank “should benefit” from lower interest rates, which should boost margins since it operates with a negative gap, Ngo asserted.

“But to be honest, it’s not a good strategy,” Ngo said, referring to the reliance on interest rate cuts.

He, therefore, noted that the bank is focused on strengthening its operating model through efficiency improvements, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital tools.

These initiatives aim to build resilience and scale, enabling the bank to better serve a growing number of newly banked customers through embedded banking and ecosystem partnerships.