EastWest seeks P9 billion in first stock rights offer since 2015

Insider Spotlight

•  EastWest is seeking P9 billion in its first stock rights offering since 2015.

• The shares are indicatively priced at P10.8 to P11.05, with the offer running from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27 and listing targeted for Dec. 7.

• About 75 percent of net proceeds will fund loan growth and 25 percent will support digital investments, backed by full subscription commitments from the Bank’s major shareholders.

East West Banking Corp. is tapping shareholders for P9 billion in fresh capital—its first stock rights offering in more than 11 years—to bankroll a wider push into consumer lending, wealth management and digital banking.

The offer will run from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27 following the Nov. 19 record date, with the new shares targeted for listing and trading on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Dec. 7 this year, its deal prospectus showed. 

The board of the Gotianun family-backed lender approved the offering on Aug. 27, with AB Capital Group appointed as issue manager and sole underwriter.

Jerry Ngo 

East West Banking CEO 

Pricing and Entitlement

EastWest will offer the shares, each with a par value of P10, within an indicative range of P10.8 to P11.05, ahead of final pricing on Nov. 12.

That range is about 7.1 percent to 9.6 percent above the Bank’s latest closing price of P10.08, leaving limited immediate price upside but giving the offer time to become more competitive depending on the final price.

Eligible shareholders may subscribe to one new share for every 2.7 to 2.76 common shares held, enabling them to preserve their proportional ownership as EastWest expands its capital base.

Shareholder Backing

Major shareholders Filinvest Development Corp. and FDC Ventures Inc. plan to take up their full entitlements, while FDC or its wholly owned subsidiaries will stand ready to purchase any institutional offer shares left unsubscribed, subject to regulatory requirements.

Use of Proceeds

EastWest expects net proceeds of P8.896 billion, which it plans to deploy in 2027 across three areas:

• P6.672 billion, or 75 percent, for loan and other risk-weighted asset growth across retail, consumer, small and medium enterprise, corporate and commercial banking
• P2.224 billion, or 25 percent, for information technology, digital transformation, data and analytics, and related infrastructure
• Any excess funds for general corporate purposes

First Rights Offer Since 2015

EastWest last conducted a stock rights offering in 2015, when it issued 371,574,000 new common shares and raised P8 billion in gross proceeds.

The shares at the time were priced P21.53 per share. 

The Filinvest Group’s banking arm had P623.9 billion in total assets and a P337.6-billion consumer loan portfolio as of June 2026.

Its nationwide network comprised 359 stores and 528 automated teller machines at the end of 2025, providing an established distribution base for its planned expansion, data from its prospectus showed. 

—Edited by Miguel R. Camus