EastWest Bank raising P10B

MANILA, Philippines - EastWest Banking Corp., the banking unit of the Gotianun family’s Filinvest Group, is raising P10 billion through the issuance of securities to comply with Basel 3 global banking requirements, the bank told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The bank said its board of directors authorized the issuance of Basel 3-compliant securities of up to P10 billion in one or more tranches.

The issuance would form part of the bank’s regulatory compliance in accordance with Basel 3 capital guidelines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and to manage the bank’s capital base for its growth.

Details of the issuance, however, were not disclosed pending corresponding approval from regulators.

The Basel 3 guidelines issued by the BSP in Jan. 15, 2003 requires that Tier 2 notes have a provision for the instrument to either be written off or converted to common equity upon occurrence of certain trigger events.

The BSP circular further stipulates that banks must make the necessary amendments to their articles of incorporation to accommodate such a conversion.

EastWest Bank is a subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), the publicly-listed holding company of the Filinvest Group that evolved from a consumer business founded by Andrew L. Gotianun Sr. in 1955.

FDC is one of the country’s premier conglomerates, with business interests in real estate, banking, sugar, hospitality and tourism, and power generation.

Through the years, EastWest Bank has successfully capitalized on the financial strength and synergy from the business organizations under the Filinvest Group.