http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/01/03/eastwest-expands/

By Anna Leah G. Estrada, Manila Standard


EastWest Banking Corp., owned by the family of tycoon Andrew Gotianun Sr., said Wednesday branch network reached 245 as of end-2012, after opening 123 new ones in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

EastWest said a disclosure to the stock exchange the branches exceeded the end-2011 total of 122.

"EastWest's commitment to its shareholders was to open new stores around the country at a rapid pace, which it has fervently pursued. The bank plans to continue with its store expansion and grow its network to at least 350 by 2014," EastWest bank said.

The bank was recently included in the MSCI Global Small Cap indices list. MSCI is a leading provider of investment decision support tools to investors globally, including asset managers, banks, hedge funds and pension funds.

EastWest in October 2012 was named by The Asian Banker as the sixth strongest bank in the Philippines.