EastWest to complete 100-branch expansion this year

MANILA, Philippines - Eastwest Banking Corp. is set to complete its 100-branch expansion program this year, a top bank official said.

Eastwest president & CEO Antonio Moncupa, in an interview on the sidelines of the EW Travel Money Prepaid Card, said “we are on track of our expansion program. We hope to meet that (target number of new branches for the year).”

In a data submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, EastWest said as of Oct. 14,  the bank has 337 branches. Of which, 290 are main branches and 47 are rural banks.

Existing branches of EastWest are equally located in Metro Manila (169 branches) and 168 in provincial areas.

The bank has constructed 45 new branches since the start of the year.

According to the data, at least 63 new branches are at various stages of construction.

To date, EastWest, a subsidiary of Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp., is the 10th largest bank in terms of total assets among domestic privately owned banks in the Philippines.

As of end-June 2013, it  ranked 5th in terms of total credit cards receivables.

The bank aims to issue over the next few months some 15,000 new cards under its newest  product, Travel Money, a first multi-currency prepaid card in Southeast Asia. It can load up to six different currencies simultaneously – US dollar, Australian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Euro, British Pound and Japanese Yen – with locked in exchange rates for the loaded currencies.

Travel Money, dubbed as the traveler’s cheque for the 21st century, could carry a maximum amount of $12,500.

Iaian Jamieson, Visa country manager for the Philippines and Guam, said Visa prepaid cards would continue to grow in popularity as travelers from the Philippines view these products as a more convenient and secure way to pay over cash.

Jamieson said aside from traveling, Travel Money could also be ideal for those who are sending regular allowances to a business or family members.

“You can have your children have one of these prepaid cards. This way, you can be assured of convenient way of sending money to your loved ones and at the same time, manage the money that you will send to them,” the Visa official said.