Corporate History

Since its official birth on July 6, 1994, EastWest Bank has emerged as one of the country’s fastest growing banks.

Shortly after it formally opened its doors to the public, EastWest Bank had envisioned itself to become the preferred consumer bank of professionals, entrepreneurs, overseas Filipino workers, and homeowners. To this end, the Bank embarked on an automation program, and began to upgrade its existing technology.

As the Bank entered the new millennium, it laid the groundwork for implementation of measures that would simplify procedures and customer transactions and ultimately, result in better banking experience for clients. It expanded its ATM network and later introduced Net Access, its online banking facility, to provide clients with more efficient delivery channels for products and services.

The latter part of the last decade proved to be an extremely challenging and yet rewarding period for the Bank. EastWest, which was perceived to be one of the “small players” in the industry in the early 2000s, became the sixth largest credit card issuer and the sixth largest service provider of auto financing when it acquired AIG PhilAm Savings Bank (AIGPASB) in 2009. AIGPASB officially merged with and into EastWest Bank on September 4, 2009. The merger was completed a few months after EastWest rivaled and won against “giant banks” and multinational companies> in its bid for the AIG-owned thrift bank.

Through the years, EastWest has remained to be a good corporate citizen through various community assistance programs. In the aftermath of typhoon Ondoy in October 2009, it donated Php16 million worth of textile items to flood victims through the Educational Research & Development Assistance (ERDA) Foundation, Caritas Manila, and ABS-CBN Sagip Foundation.

At present, the Bank has a total of 89 branches: 54 in Metro Manila and 35 in key provincial areas. For 2010, it intends to expand its network to more than 100 branches. It recently reported an unprecedented income of Php534 million in 2009, a 215% leap from its net income of Php169 million in 2008. By end of 2009, the Bank had a total asset base of Php75 billion, a 53 per cent growth from Php49 billion in 2008.

To address the evolving needs of its middle market clients, EastWest Bank continues to develop innovative products, services and delivery channels. As now one of the country’s fastest growing banks, the Bank is poised to sustain its growth momentum. Over the next five years, EastWest will take concrete steps that are geared towards the fulfillment of its ultimate goal of becoming a “world class bank anchored on service excellence”.

EastWest Bank is a subsidiary of the Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC), the publicly listed holding company of the Filinvest Group founded by Andrew L. Gotianun, Sr. in 1955. FDC is one of the country’s premier conglomerates, with business interests in real estate development, financial and banking services and the sugar business.

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