East West Banking Corporation (EastWest) posted a first quarter net income of P786.6 million, 31% higher from the same period last year, driven primarily by its strong operating performance.

EastWest sustained double-digit growth in its core operations and its industry-leading net interest margin (NIM) of 8.0% as the bank starts to see the result of its expansion program.

Net interest income increased 32% year-on-year to P3.6 billion, driven by robust growth across the different business units: consumer, business loans, and deposits. Other income, meanwhile, rose 4% to P1.5 billion. Trading income was at P449.7 million or 52% higher than the gains booked for the same period last year.

Total operating expenses, excluding provision for loan losses, grew by 18% to P2.8 billion, consistent with the growth of the bank’s operations. Compensation-related expenses increased 13% to P1.0 billion.

The bank set aside P1.3 billion for probable credit losses, 37% higher, on account of aggressive consumer loan portfolio growth.

Net revenues grew by 22% to P5.1 billion compared to the same period last year.

“We are pleased with our first quarter performance, which is in line with our expectation and our projection that we will start reaping this year the early fruits of our recently completed expansion program that begun in 2012,” said President & CEO Antonio C. Moncupa, Jr.

Total assets stood at P240.0 billion—up 30% year-on-year as the bank’s customer base and market share grew with the expansion of its store network. EastWest has 437 stores to date, almost triple its 168 consolidated nationwide network five years ago.

Customer loans increased 33% to P164.6 billion. Non-performing loans (NPL) ratio improved to 3.12% from 4.30% in 2015. Deposits jumped 29% to P189.0 billion year-on-year. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) under Basel 3 remains more than adequate at 14.9% as of March 31, 2016, while Tier-1 ratio stood at 11.8%. The Bank’s Tier 1 capital is composed entirely of common equity.

EastWest is one of the fastest growing universal banks and is ranked among the top 10 privately owned local banks in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC), one of the country’s largest conglomerates with a diverse range of interests from real estate, banking, sugar, hospitality/tourism to power generation.