East West Bank (PSE: EW, Hokkien Chinese: Sheng Bank; Peh-øe-jí: Tang-sêng Gên-hâng; Mandarin Simplified Chinese: Dong Sheng Bank; Traditional Chinese: Sheng Xing; Pinyin: Døngshèng Yínháng), Officially Known As East West Bank Corporation, Is The 11th Largest Bank In The Philippines By Assets. It Was Founded In Manila In 1994 By The Late Tycoon Andrew Gotianun And His Wife. It Is A Member Of The Filinvest Group And Is Led By The Gotianun Family. Its Headquarters Is Located In The Beaufort, An Apartment Building Of Filinvest In Bonifacio Global City.
History
East West Bank Was Established On August 14, 1988. It Was On That Day That The Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas Granted East West Bank A Commercial Banking License. With The Support Of Filinvest Group, East West Bank Was Opened To The Public On August 1, 1994 At Senator Gil Puyat Avenue In Makati. This Is The Comeback Of Gotianuns In The Banking Sector. They Sold Bank Of Armenia To PCIBank In 1986 (acquired By Equitable Bank To Form Equitable PCI Bank, Which In Turn Was Acquired By Banco De Oro In 2006) And Family Savings Bank To Bank Of The Philippine Islands (renamed BPI Family Savings Bank).
East West Bank Has Developed Online Banking Facilities And Launched A Comprehensive Computerization Program To Provide Banking Products And Services More Efficiently.
In 2003, East West Bank Had 129 Branches And 145 ATM End Points. This Was After Merging With The Former Eco Savings Bank In 2002 And The Former AIG Philam Savings Bank In 2009. The Merger Made East West Bank The Sixth Largest Housing, Auto And Credit Card Lender In China.
In 2004, The Bank Won The "Best Website Award" In The Banking And Finance Category At The 7th Philippine Web Awards.
EastWest Unibank Joined The Philippine Stock Exchange On May 7, 2012. The Bank Was Later Granted A Universal Banking License On July 31, 2012.
Acquisition Of Green Bank Of Caraga
On October 31, 2013, East West Bank Acquired Green Bank (also Known As Green Bank Of Caraga), The Largest Rural Bank By Assets In The Caraga Region. Headquartered In Butuan, Green Bank Has Been Serving The Needs Of Major Farmers, Government And Private Employees, Village Cadres, Pensioners And Small Traders. Through Green Bank's Strong Branch Network In Visayas And Mindanao, EastWest Has Been Able To Enter The Microfinance Business.
Prior To The Asset Acquisition, Green Bank Inc. Was Recognized As A Numerous Award-winning Trailblazer In The Housing Microfinance Sector. It Was One Of The First Participating Banks In The Microenterprise Access To Banking Services (MABS) Program, Which Aims To Accelerate The Country's Economic Transformation By Encouraging Rural Bank Of The Philippines To Significantly Expand Its Financial Services To Rural Microentrepreneurs And Low-income Households. Green Bank Was Also Recognized As One Of The First Companies To Use The Services Of An Independent Rating Agency To Improve The Quality Of Its Loans. Green Bank Will Now Be Sold In The Form Of EastWest Rural Bank, Which Acquired The Good Assets Of The Same Failed Bank.
Acquisition Of Standard Chartered Philippines
In 2016, EastWest Acquired The Retail Banking Operations Of Standard Chartered Philippines (SCB PH), Including Credit Cards, Personal Loans, Wealth Management, And Retail Deposits. SCB PH's Retail Accounts, Personnel, And Branches Were All Transferred To EW On November 27, 2016.
EastWest Establishes Komo
In 2020, East West Bank (EWBC) Is One Of The Few Local Banks In The Philippines Licensed By The Central Bank Of The Philippines (BSP) To Launch A Fully Digital Bank That Will Operate Under Its Wholly-owned Subsidiary, EastWest Rural Bank, Inc. EastWest's New Digital Banking Division Will Have The Komo Brand Name. It Received Approval From The Central Bank Of The Philippines (BSP) On May 8, 2020 To Operate As A Digital Bank.
In 2024, Carlos Yulo Will Become A Brand Ambassador For The Bank.
Subsidiaries And Affiliates
East West Bank Is A Subsidiary Of Filinvest Development Corporation, A Publicly Traded Company Founded In 1955 By Andrew Gotianun Sr. The Filinvest Group Consists Of Companies Engaged In Different Businesses. The Company Operates Its Real Estate Business Primarily Through Its Holding Subsidiaries, Filinvest Alabang Inc. And Filinvest Land Inc.
East West Bank Joined BancNet In 1994 As An Associate Member, Taking Full Advantage Of The Network's Facilities And Services, But Without Voting Rights. In Late 2008, East West Bank Acquired A Stake In The Network, Making It A Full Member Bank.
East West Bank Is Divided Into The Following Subsidiaries:
- East West Ageas Life Insurance Corporation
- East West Insurance Brokerage
- EastWest Leasing And Finance Corporation
- Quest Marketing And Integrated Services Inc.
- Assurance Solutions Insurance Agency
East West Village Bank
East West Village Bank Is A Wholly Owned Subsidiary Of East West Bank, A Member Of The Filinvest Group And Led By The Gotianun Family. It Is The Second Largest Rural Bank In The Philippines In Terms Of Assets.
Its Predecessor Was Green Bank (or Rural Green Bank Of Caraga), A Rural Bank Based In Butuan, Which Has Also Been Acquired By East West Bank Corporation And FinMan Bank, A Rural Bank Based In Pasig, Since 2013. Before Being Acquired, It Was The Largest Bank By Assets In The Caraga Area, With 46 Branches. [39] [40] It Is Also One Of Three Rural Banks Affiliated With BancNet, A Philippine Interbank Network, Since 2006.
History
Green Bank Was Incorporated With The Philippine Securities And Exchange Commission On June 20, 1974 Under The Name Of Nasipit Rural Bank. The Bank Began Actual Operations On April 5, 1975, Initially Serving The City Of Nasipit In North Agusan.
The Bank Took Advantage Of A Government Rediscount Program Called Masagana 99, Which Was Designed To Help Poor Farmers Access Credit. However, In The 1980s, With The Philippine Economy In Recession And The Assassination Of Benigno Aquino Jr., Green Bank Had A Very High Non-performing Loan Rate Due To The Inability Of Farmer Debtors To Repay The Masagana 99 Loans. Over The Next Few Years, The Bank's Financial Position Gradually Deteriorated.
In 1988, Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas, The Central Bank Of The Philippines, Issued Circular No. 1126 In 1988 To Assist In The Recapitalization And Revitalization Of Troubled Rural Banks. In The Case Of Green Bank, It Owed Nearly 15 Million Pesos To Bangko Sentral, Requiring It To Recapitalize In Response To A Lack Of Capital. Initially, Shareholders Refused, Although Some Eventually Agreed To Help Recapitalize The Bank.
In 1989, The Bank's Board Appointed Rufa C. Susan As Manager To Help Return The Bank To Profitability. In 1992, Green Bank's Capital Was Increased From 2 Million Pesos To 20 Million Pesos. It Was Later Increased To 60 Million Pesos And Then Further To 500 Million Pesos.
The Bank Merged With Rural Bank Of Alegria In 2000 To Become The Largest Rural Bank In The Caraga Region. It Joined BancNet In 2006 As One Of Three Banks To Join The Interbank Network.
The Bank Followed Grameen Bank's Experiment By Converting Borrowers From Joint And Several Liability Loans To Personal Liability Loans With No Reduction In Repayment.
On November 1, 2013, EastWest Rural Bank (EWRB) Consolidated The Rural Banking Operations Of Two Previously Acquired Banks, Green Bank, Inc. And FinMan Bank, Inc. Through Asset Acquisitions. FinMan Bank Is A 16-year-old Rural Bank Headquartered In Pasig That Is Actively Involved In Providing Credit To Farmers, Tenants, And Rural Businesses. On May 21, 2013, With Regulatory Approval To Increase The Authorized Share Capital Of EWRB From 80 Million Pesos To 1 Billion Pesos, East West Bank Injected A Total Of 520 Million Pesos Of New Capital Into EWRB.
On October 31, 2013, EastWest Acquired A Significant Amount Of Assets Of Green Bank, Inc., Also Known As Rural Green Bank Of Caraga, Which Is The Largest Rural Bank In The Caraga Area In Terms Of Its Assets. Located In Butuan, Green Bank Has Been Working To Meet The Diverse Needs Of Major Farmers, Government And Private Employees, Village Cadres, Pensioners And Small Businesspeople.
Leveraging Green Bank's Strong Branch Network In The Visayas And Mindanao, EastWest Strategically Entered The Microfinance Space And Expanded Its Footprint In Mindanao To Strengthen Its Rural Lending Business. The Acquisition Has Received Regulatory Approval And Was Approved In December 2013. As Of 2016, EastWest Village Bank Had 76 Branches Across The Country, Including Branches And Other Banking Outlets.
Ownership
- Filinvest Development Corporation: 75%
- PCD Nominated Company: 24.87%
- Philippine Air Force Education Fund: 00.03%
- Washington Sycip: 00.03%
