EastWest reports 6.8% decline in Q1 earnings

Lower revenues pulled down the net income of EastWest Bank in the year's first three months, the lender informed the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday. In a statement, the bank said its earnings slipped 6.8 percent to P443 million as revenues declined 2.9 percent to P1.58 billion. "EastWest's revenues for the period came mostly from its core businesses as trading gains contracted 70.6 percent year-on-year, or down to just P70 million from P239 million in the same period last year," the bank said. Meanwhile, total operating expenses rose by two percent owing to "manpower expenses as the bank continued to beef up its talent pool." The bank's capital adequacy ratio, which measures its ability to pay liabilities, was 15.77 percent, higher than the required 10 percent by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. As of April 2011, EastWest has a total branch network of 114, while number of ATMs was 119. The bank is planning to open 30 more branches in the coming months. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News