EastWest to issue P10B in long-term notes

Listed East West Banking Corp. (EastWest) will issue up to P10 billion long-term negotiable certificate of deposit (LTNCD) which will be initially offered with terms of 5.5 and 7 years and the pro­ceeds from which will be used for expansion of long-term de­posit base and for general funding purposes.

The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently approved EastWest’s filing for the LTNCD.

The bank stated that it remained focus on expanding con­sumer loans and mid-market corporate loans.

Consumer loans accounted for 66 percent of customer loans as of the third quarter of last year.

The bank’s loan portfolio has been growing driven by the store network’s compound annual growth rate of 32.9 percent over the last five years.

“We’re raising LTNCDs to expand our long-term deposit base and to support our asset growth plans.

This LTNCD offering lengthens the maturity profile of our deposits and at lower reserve cost of 7 percent versus the usual 20 percent for regular deposits. It is also an attractive investment outlet for individuals because it is tax-exempt if held to maturi­ty,” EastWest SEVP and Chief Operating Officer Jose Emmanuel Hilado said.

The bank had raised a total of P8.1 billion from its previous two LTNCD offerings in 2012-2014. RIZA LOZADA