EastWest completes P5-B notes issue

MANILA, Philippines - East West Banking Corp. has completed the issuance of P5 billion worth of Basel III-compliant Tier 2 unsecured subordinated notes.

The notes were issued at a coupon rate of 5.5 percent and will mature on January 2025. The settlement date is set on July 4, 2014.

EastWest has the option to call the notes in five years and six months from the issue date. Interest will be paid quarterly in arrears.

Deutsche Bank, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp., Standard Chartered Bank and UniCapital served as the joint lead arrangers and selling agents.

At the end of the first quarter of the year, EastWest’s total assets stood at P153.8 billion, with total loan portfolio of P102 billion.

Its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and Tier 1 ratio stood at 12.2 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively.

EastWest president and CEO Antonio Moncupa Jr. said “they are pleased with the reception and are grateful for the trust and confidence of our clients and investors.”

“This fresh Basel III eligible capital will support our expansion program as we complete our target to have at least 400 branch stores before the end of the year to serve more customers,” he said.

EastWest is a subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), one of the largest and well established business conglome-rates in the Philippines.

FDC, established in 1955, is identified with the Gotianun family. Aside from banking, its other business interests include real estate, sugar, hospitality and tourism, and power generation.