East West Banking Corp. (EastWest Bank) is looking to expand its other business areas as it expects demand for consumer loans to slow due to weakness in investor sentiment amid the economic fallout from a corruption scandal.
“Obviously, consumers' credit demand will be affected due to the slow economy [situation]. So, it's a balance. We are still hopeful. We're still very, very optimistic about the whole thing. But, as you go through the whole thing, you stop and organize. And that's what we're doing right now, is just modifying it from one focus to another. But we will still continue to grow and continue to move forward,” said Jerry G. Ngo, Chief Executive Officer of EastWest Bank businessworld On the sidelines of a central bank event last month.
Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing the full-year average to 4.4%, below the government's 5.5%-6.5% target. That was slower than 2024's 5.7% and the weakest annual expansion since 3.9% in 2011, with a calculated 9.5% contraction in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Officials said growth has been hampered by a decline in public spending and low consumer and business confidence due to the flood control scandal.
Mr Ngo said the Gotaniyun-led bank will be more aggressive in expanding its corporate, high net worth and small and medium enterprise (SME) sectors this year.
Still, he expects growth to be driven primarily by consumer business, he said. The official previously said that about 80% of EastWest Bank's loan book is made up of consumer loans.
As of the end of September, the bank's total loans stood at P361.7 billion.
Mr Ngo said corporate loans currently constitute around 15-16% of their total portfolio, giving scope for this segment to grow.
He said the bank aims to increase the share of corporate lending in its total portfolio by two to three percentage points this year, with the segment expected to grow faster than the expansion of its entire loan book.
Meanwhile, the bank also looks to maintain the momentum of its high-net-worth segment as it saw strong growth in assets under management (AUM) last year.
“The priority banking business is also quite big now. So, we are trying to grow it even further. Customer acquisition has also increased significantly. The platform has been good,” he said, adding that the segment's AUM grew by about 20%-30% last year.
Mr Ngo said EastWest Bank also wants to further expand its new SME segment.
“The SME loan book is very small. This is just the beginning. We are trying to see as much as possible how we can go about it. But there is no target at the moment. It is a bit early at the moment.”
EastWest Bank's attributable net income rose 6.25% year-on-year to P2.48 billion in the third quarter of 2025, driven by its consumer account.
This brought its nine-month profit last year to P6.62 billion, up 13.81% from the same period in 2024.
Shares of EastWest Bank closed six centavos or 0.48% higher at P12.56 on Wednesday. — Aaron Michael C. Cy