EastWest Bank eConnect

2009 Leaders’ Night

1st HALF 2009

BRINGING OUR VALUES TO LIFE

Branch of the Year: Soler

e-poll: “What’s your most unforgettable summer experience?”

CONNECTING EASTWEST BANKERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

VISION To be a world-class bank anchored on service excellence in our chosen markets.

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editor’s note

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Performance in 2008 : After the Breakthrough, One More Big Step

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cover story: leaders’ night

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leaders’ nights snapshots

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h.r. updates

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@ your service

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e-recommends

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About the cover With the central theme, “Bringing our values to life”, the eConnect editors chose an image of a dad raising his kid, with high hopes that his child will grow up with good values. It is undeniable that our beloved EastWest Bank is on the rise and everyday brings a clear sign that we are headed towards our vision. As we continuously grow, we hope that our core values will be our guiding light in realizing our goals.

EDITORIAL TEAM Editorial Board Gerry Susmerano / Karl G. Reyes / Gina V. Bondoc / Jackie S. Fernandez Editor-in-chief Judy Grace DL. Capili Associate editor Enzo D. Cruz Section editors Features - Shie A. Omnes / News - Jem R. Ocampo Copy editors Yasmin D.Velasco / Tina L. Billedo / Oliver O. Pura e-Connect is the Official quarterly newsletter of EastWest Bank. No part of the content of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the Editorial Board. Any opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the writer and not necessarily those of EastWest Bank.

Address all correspondence to: E-CONNECT 21/F PBCom Tower 6795 Ayala Ave. Makati City Tel: (632) 830-8905 Fax: (632) 830-8767

editor’s note

Your e-Connect editorial team offers the first half 2009 issue of our newsletter. This issue comes in a flurry of many changes and developments in the organization.

To say that EastWest Bank is transforming is an understatement. We can say it is metamorphosing – changing into a bigger and better organization. In the words of the youth: “Ibang level!”

As of press time, integration activities following the Bank’s acquisition of AIG Philam Savings Bank are underway.

As we are busy with our business-as-usual activities and challenging but welcome projects, we share with you, albeit belated, the speech of our President and CEO Tony Moncupa delivered during the Leaders’ Night (page 4-6). The Leaders’ Night continues to be the most-awaited event all year and we hope you will enjoy some exclusive photos of that night on pages 12 and 13.

The event was ably annotated by correspondent Yam Velasco (page 8). While you’re at it, find out more about Cinderella story behind the victorious Branch of the Year, Soler-Arranque (page 18). Truly inspiring!

Your editorial team likewise proudly welcomes the new members of the e-Connect team – the bank marketing members. With joy and openness and a tinge of sadness, we bequeath the e-Connect newsletter publication to the bank marketing division where this function rightly resides. HR will continue to be active correspondents of the e-Connect as we will surely watch it blossom even more under the caring hands of our communication experts.

We hope you enjoy this issue. There is more to come soon!

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e-news

S.C.E.N.E. results revealed By: Mitch Recto, Human Resource

In the last quarter of 2008, EastWest Bank embarked on an external customer satisfaction survey called Survey on Customer Experience, Needs and Expectations (or SCENE). This study was conducted to primarily get an overall assessment of our clients’ perception and behavior towards the Bank. Specifically, the project aims to: • • • •

Determine the Bank’s performance in the area of customer service Gauge the level of satisfaction of EastWest Bank customers Determine areas of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Determine areas of strength, weakness and improvement

Together with other service standard monitoring tools such as the Mystery Shopper and Mystery Caller programs, SCENE will now be regular undertaking to ensure that service quality is sustained in the branches so as to achieve the goal of becoming a world-class bank anchored on service excellence.

Baliuag branch inaugurates By: Efraim Ocol, Cash Management The Baliuag branch, headed by Mr. Lito Tanghal, was inaugurated last January 30, 2009. Holy Mass and branch blessing were celebrated by Monsignor Enrico Santos. The event was graced by the Mayor of Baliuag, Bulacan, Remy Estrella, valued clients, and employees of the Bank from different branches and head office units. Ires Guzman, division 5 head, also gave her support to the branch.

The branch personnels namely Boyet Sison (service head), Karlo David (sales specialist), Mary Antoinette Dela Cruz (sales specialist), Aisha Buenaventura (customer service associate) and JT Francisco (customer service associate) also welcomed the guests of the said event.

As the program ended, guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner with soft music and display of fireworks.

Team Building for CSG, Davao and Cash Mgmt.

By: Jem Ocampo, Human Resource Having an excellent service culture is our greatest weapon in achieving our vision.

First quarter of 2009 proved that achievement of the vision is not far fetched. Barely two months after we entered the present year, three big groups had their Team Building Workshops. These

Cash Management Division

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are the Credit Services Group at the MMLDC Antipolo on January 17 and 18, Davao Branches at the Eden Nature Park Resort in Davao City on January 24 and 25 and Cash Management Division at the Timberland Sports and Nature Club on February 7 and 8, 2009.

It was a moment of fun, bonding, and realization for everybody present during the workshop. We are hoping that all the memories and learning would always live on as we continue to travel together the road to having the BEST Service Culture in the industry.

Davao Branches

Credit Service Group

e-news

Upgrading systems for simpler, faster and better service By: Nympha Casambros, Central Branch Operations

For 2009 fellow Eastwestbankers can look forward to three milestones geared in achieving ‘simpler, faster, better’ way of processing transactions: • • •

Phoenix upgrade to ME or ‘Middle East’ version.

Purchase of Branch Automation system (GFS) to replace the Branch Tellering Platform (BTP) Purchase of Tradewind System for the trade finance transactions

2009 Branch Heads’ Conference & Teambuilding

At the helm of these projects are Systems and Methods Division Head Isabel ‘Ging’ Pijuan and Project Manager Lawrence Salido.

Support teams currently undergoing training and to perform the User’s Acceptance testing are: (1) Branch Operations Team –for Deposits Processing ; (2) Loans & Trade Operations Team – for Loans, Commitments, and Tradewind System; (3) Systems Design and Innovation Department –for UAT exceptions monitoring and new features of the ME version ; (4) I.T. Division –for Database management and Technical Support (5) Systems Security & Quality Assurance Division –for the System Administration ; (6) I.S. Audit Group- for System review ;and (7) Central Accounting Division –for the General ledger With these system enhancements, we are set closer to our vision of becoming a world-class bank anchored on service excellence in our chosen markets.

2009 BRANCH HEADS’ CONFERENCE AND TEAMBUILDING AWARDEES

By: Rhizel E. Bautista, Human Resource

★ Cash Management The 2009 Branch Heads’ Conference and Teambuilding was held in Grande Island, Subic Bay on February 5 and 6, 2009. Gerry Susmerano, head of retail banking group, presented the accomplishments of all the branches and discussed the targets for 2009. Cash awards and trips abroad were also given by credit cards, home loans, auto loans, distribution, cash management and from our deputy group head, Ivy Uy. These were just among the many awards given. The second day of the conference was their teambuilding workshop. The branch heads were physically and mentally challenged with the different activities held during that day.

The Branch Heads’ Conference and Teambuilding was truly a success as the day ended with tears, hugs and smiles in the hearts of our branch heads.

• Branch with biggest cash management volume – Pasong Tamo • Best division: highest increase in volume for 2008 – Division 8, Doli Cabahug ★ Home Loans – Booked volume based on target realization rate • Best Division – Division 7, Ires Guzman • #1 Branch – Isabela Branch ★ Credit Cards • Class A – Intramuros • Class B – Lucena and Dagupan • Class C – Soler, Isabela, and Tarlac • #1 Branch based on approvals – Lucena • #1 Division based on activation rate – Division 8, Doli Cabahug

• #1 Division based on approvals – Division 6, Beng Gabatin ★ Auto Loans • #1 Branch – Isabela • Best Division – Division 2, Mary Jane Caliwan ★ Distribution • #1 Branch in terms of income – DavaoLanang • #1 Division in terms of income – Division 2, Mary Jane Caliwan ★ Year-End Branch Awardees • CASA MTD ADB – Intramuros • Existing CASA QTD ADB – Malabon • Over-all Fees Collection – Del Monte • Php on books– Main-Ayala • Total funds Intramuros

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e-feature

Performance in 2008 : After the Breakthrough, One More Big Step Speech of President and CEO Tony Moncupa Jr. during the Leaders’ Night 2009

In the beginning there was the vision, and our vision contained the seeds of our strategy and that is Focus and Differentiate. Focus on Certain Market Segments and Differentiate through Service Excellence.

We told ourselves that we will not be a bank for everybody — not yet, anyway.

We defined the small and mid size companies as our major markets for loans and deposits. And the consumer for our retail loans business: credit cards, auto, and mortgage.

And businesses that do not require huge resources like fixed income distribution. In short, high margin business lines and those where we can compete on equal footing with the best. If by company Mission we mean, then our approach is to win and be successful, this is it. If you will, we are doing what is akin to guerilla warfare: building our base on a few businesses, building our strengths and capabilities through continuous growth and profitability and from there, enlarge our coverage until we are strong enough to wage conventional warfare mano y mano with all comers and in most market segments.

performed rather exceptionally and there are Amie and their teams are almost staying those who lagged behind. overnight working to solve these problems. On the other end, we do have our strengths that On the positive note, we continue to gain more will not lag much from the best of our confidence. We are growing faster than the competitors. Let’s do a quick review of the industry. Our productivity, in terms of cost to 2008 numbers. income ratio, is getting better leading to continued improvement in core earnings. We Here’s how we did in 2008. Our total resources are putting up impressive growth achievements. increased by 31% to P49.9 B. While this is Branch Sales Channel, Credit Card, and Fixed better than the Commercial Banking growth of Income Distribution, not necessarily in any around 10%, we are 15% off our target mostly order, give us a good platform to launch bigger because we totally missed our loan volume initiatives. I think we could raise our heads a few targets. more centimeters.We continue to gain grounds in consolidating and unifying the organization. CASA, both Peso and FCDU, grew by 18% to We are getting more comfortable with our P16.4 B. Corporate loans were at P10.3 B , way vision and strategy. We are communicating and off the mark the targeted level of Php19.8 B as coordinating better. we were not able to execute our organizational build-up plan. Credit Cards at P3.4B against But there are still lots of room to improve. We target of Php 3.5 B just about there. still need to do a lot of effort towards creating a Auto Loans Php 3.4 B against target of Php 3.9 B as we continue to hold off further expansion until we resolve our elevated NPLs, streamline transaction processing and loan administration so that we could collect properly. Mortgage Php 3.1 B against target of Php 4.1 B. For a macro segment that grew by around 20%, we did poorly in this business. There are a lot of efforts that we need to exert on all parts of this business: Marketing and Sales, underwriting, credit policy, transaction processing, loan administration, and collection. Salary Loans Php 428 million against target of Php 760 million.

This one was another deliberate scale down as a reaction to our mistakes in 2007.

In the meantime we translated this into 3 Wildly Important Goals as the overarching objectives we are working on. The Trinity of Stakeholders: Customers-Employees-Stockholders. The Circle that has no beginning and no end. Distinct and yet united as one, mutually reinforcing each other. more open organization where ideas flow freely and debates and discussions are celebrated To give us a better picture of what this means, virtues. We still have to conquer our backroom we put them into numbers, and our rolling 5- challenges, particularly in Accounting, transaction year plan came into being. That is the context processing, loan administration; we need to solve that we now look at. We made some strides in the floating payment and posting issues.We need 2008. We have our share of successes and to quicken a bit more our pace of automation. shortcomings. Overall, if we are to put a There is still a lot of room to improve on our number on how well we did on a scale of 1 to 5 governance practice and control.We are not yet with 5 being the highest, I would say, we should near our tag line of giving our customers be at 3.3. I am almost sure there will be a lot of ‘Simpler, Faster, and Better’ service. disagreement to this number. One could argue that in the historical context of the numbers, the As I said on many occasions, we are like a rating must be much higher. Maybe so, but we powerful engine where one of the pistons is are not competing against history. We are misfiring. Even as is, we are still running fast. But competing against other banks determined to pretty soon, unless it’s fixed, it will slow us down. make good and get everything they could. Also, We are a work in progress and there are still a what the big numbers hide is the disparity lot of balls on the floor that we need to pick up. among the different components of the Unfortunately, these long running issues will not organization.

There were some which be solved overnight. But surely, Marty, Row,

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On an apple to apple comparison, unaudited income is at P 373 million, 171% better than 2007’s Php137 million. However, there will be a one time adjustment downward from our deferred tax benefit by P 91 M as a result of the lowering of the corporate income tax from 35% to 30%. This brings down our unaudited income to P 294 M What brought about this income is the hefty increase in NII and Fee income.

P 598 Million or 44% increase to almost Php2.0 B in Net interest Income (please note this was after a 47% increase in 2007). Please also put this into context that half our portfolio is Retail which have high NII but likewise high provisioning. P 391 Million or 87% increase in recurring (ex-trading) Fees to a little over P800 Million (after 44% up in 2007). Net Revenues up by almost P 1.0B. Highlights in Increase in Net Interest Income.

Control of Deposit interest expense continues to push NII higher. Increase in Deposit Volume by 26% to PhP39.3 B. Increase/(Decrease) in interest costs by 11.4% to PhP1.1 B; interest cost from average 3.5% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2008, maintained the 2007 last quarter levels. Increase in Credit Card Receivables by 92% to PhP3.4 B. 182% increase in cardholder base. Increase in Mortgage Loans by 11.8% to PhP3.118 B.

e-feature The nice thing about these businesses is that these are rich in fees. Corporate Loans.

Corporate Banking remains to be a big challenge for us. We are way off our target. We were not able to complete our target hires for loan officers. We are below our target productivity. I could almost hear that this is due to our tight credit standards and a pressure laden loan committee. This could always be debated but we know for a fact that there are banks even more stringent in their credit standards. And it is a given, we will not compromise our credit quality standards.We will try to be nicer though.

think you deserve a big round of applause for putting EastWest Bank one more step towards its objective to become a more relevant player in the industry.

We now close another chapter in the history of EastWest and embark to write the story for 2009. And this year promises to be a most interesting year for us amidst the economic challenges in the global and local markets and of course, as we integrate AIG PASB and our new 500 Our year to year volume increased by 23%. or so colleagues.

ADB volume up by 2.3B.Average yield down by 1.5%, from 9.4% to 7.9%. Gross income Let’s start with our new 5 year plan. contribution up by 13%. Deposits related Fees Obviously, we are more bullish than up by 68% to Php 343 M. Corporate Loans most given this target. But really, the big premise related Fees up by 45% to P 37 M. Consumer in these numbers is that we have a small base Loans related Fees. Credit cards 249% to P 336 and even with the uncertain economic scenario, M.Auto 16% to P 34 M. Mortgage 108% to P 38 we should be able to grab some business from M. Salary Loans 88% down to P 2 M. Fixed our competitors. We don’t need much. Only Income Fees up by 214% to PhP 75M 25 B more, excluding the present Php10.0 B of Manpower expenses up by 36% due to merit AIGPASB. In the screen is our rolling 5 year increases, bonus, and expansion of our work plan. We missed the balance sheet targets in force. Our head count was up 25% to around 2008 but were pretty close on the Income 1,700 beautiful men and women. We also have Statement. We could only conclude that there the full impact of the 18% increase in 2007 head were some sandbagging that happened in the count. In the last two years we added 550 head income budget. count and added P 20 B in assets. We hired 1400 which means that more than 800 resign.

For 2009, we continue to pursue our Wildly Important Goals working on the common Operating expenses went up 298 million or aspirations of the Trinity: Customers, Employees, 26%. Increases in cost were more or less and Stockholders. Customer, excellent service reasonable in the context of the 54% increase in and a delightful experience. Employees, more net revenues. responsive human resource management practices. Stockholders, fair return on their We could clearly see the benefit of scale. As we investments. grow, productivity will almost surely improve as we leverage our resources, including the Our target for 2009 considered our present executive overhead. You could perhaps imagine organizational capabilities, planned continuous what will happen once we are able to address strengthening of our leadership and the challenges mentioned earlier. I will not management talent pool, market conditions, and repeat it our challenges and issues, but please available resources. Increase in Total Resources understand that I will always try to promote my Assets by PhP 25.8 B. favorite virtue : candor. I think it will help us all Total Deposits to increase by PhP 22.1 B. to move faster if we are able to establish candor as a celebrated organizational way of life. But PhP Low Cost Deposits to increase by PhP 2.2 having said that, i B. This really a low ball, but Grace Ang tolerated it with the understanding that our branches set the budget to be broken big time. In 2007, we only have 75 b r a n c h e s , w h e n we integrate PhilAm Savings and opened the planned branches, we should end the year with 100 branches. And there is another big thing: in 2007 we generated new CASA of P 4.1B but lost P 1.6B C ASA from those booked prior to 2008. I agree with Gerry that a big part of the reason is service related. And there

is no question we will fix our service issues. Since we now have more branches and we are solving our service issues, surely P 2.2 B is so easy.

Anyway, we will review these plans because we did not include PhilAm Saving’s resources when we prepared our plans. Surely, there must be some goodwill and some amount of market prominence EastWest should get from the transaction. It’s like a little pogi points which should make it a bit easier to convince customers.

FCDU Deposits to increase by PhP 1.6 B. This is another obviously understated target. I think we are already close to the target and we are not even done with the first quarter.

Loans (net) to increase by PhP 14.2 B Corporate and Middle Markets by PhP 13.6 B. The numbers could be daunting. But if you break it down per targeted AO complement, it would not be as much. The big dependencies here is getting the talent and higher and more balance productivity from the existing plantilla.

Retail Loans. Credit Card Receivables by PhP 1.6 B. After growing P 1.6 B in 2008,Alex and Jackie are only targeting P 1.6 B. Again, another target made to be broken. Mortgage Loans by PhP 1.3 B. This should be easily attainable.Auto Loans by PhP 778 million.

This one has its own dependencies. Among the pieces of the auto loan businesses, Sales probably is not the hardest. We have to solve our NPL issue which is largely an underwriting, loan administration, and collection issues. Salary Loans by PhP 322 million. We have improve on this compared to the disaster in 2007. We should take a close look at expanding and maybe start thinking of the public personal loans. Balance to Securities

by PhP 3.9 B Income to increase by PhP 369 million. Net Interest Income PhP 1.1 B. Recurring Fees to increase by PhP 359 million. This will be obviously exceeded not only because of the sure over budget in CASA but our Distribution Groups target of only P150 Million. They are not number 2 in the industry for Php 150 Million. And it goes for both Institutional and

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e-feature Retail. Both are under budget. But seriously, this budget was made considering the uncertainties in the financial markets. At the rate its proceeding though, we should be less worried.

Trading Fees to increase by PhP 118 million. This one naman appears to be too stretched given the volatility and very difficult financial markets.

We could all be confident though that any shortfall will be filled in by the LBs.

integrity is a qualifier. No one should be allowed inside the building if he or she does not have it.

So, it has to be beyond that. Do we mean by integrity for instance, honoring our responsibilities by working the required hours without taking too many coffee and smoking breaks?

Or do we mean by mutual concern honoring or respecting everybody’s time by coming to meetings on time, or listening to each other and not texting when in meetings? All these we need to define so it becomes clear what behavior is is expected from each one of us.

And when we are done, we will incorporate this in our performance rating system to deliver the point that we are very serious when it comes to values. We will hear more from HR on these in the coming weeks.

Key Ratios. ROE at 11.1%. Leverage at 10.8. ROA at 1.2%. Cost to Income at 60%. Capital Adequacy Ratio at 11.5%. Intermediation Ratio at 65%.

Key Strategies. Human Resource Management is moving faster towards meritocracy and improving competency based career management. Customer Service Orientation.

QSM, service strategy and infrastructure.

Efficiency Improvement, full blast automation and improving manual processing procedures.

Why do we prepare ambitious budgets and talk about values? The simple answer is we want to In the last two 24 months to December 2008, win. We will not be shy to say that we want to EastWest has grown by P 20 B. That is a little be among the best banks in the country. Such short of P 1.0 B a month. But we were in a being the case, then we know that Good will period of adjustments. We are better adjusted not be enough. We have to work towards by now. Our stockholders have invested P 1.5 B excellence. And excellence by its very definition last year and are set to infuse another Php 2.0 B is inconvenient and difficult to achieve. in equity, and by the way, the money is already in But of course, it’s not only excellence for its own the Bank. We have made some improvements sake. But largely, to reach our collective dream. and committed resources. Huge amounts in Yes, all these efforts are premised that we share automation. Renovations. New branches. Added a collective aspiration. We dream of higher pay manpower. And surely, with all these, we should and benefits, in fact of being among the best. do better than the P 1.0 B a month growth in We dream of creating career opportunities for assets. everyone; we dream of a bank who could offer the best chance to every These are obviously stretch targets, particularly member of the organization to loans, which will be at the center stage of our see their full career potential plans. I believe the income target will be easier blossom.We dream of being in a to achieve and the balance sheet will be the real respected place in the industry. hard one. We need to focus if we are to In the process of realizing our translate all these English to reality. And when dreams as professionals, we also we talk about results, we must not forget the by definition aspire to give our fundamental truth.

As leaders in the shareholders fair return on their organization, we must not lose sight that in the investments.

And of course, end, this game is about harnessing the human these dreams will only happen if resources of the bank. We must capture their we serve our customer in the imagination and build a consensus on our manner that they expect. Also, we common aspirations, and how we can achieve dream of helping improve banking them. That is why the HR agenda should always so that it could better serve the be a top priority. developmental aspirations of our country and do its capital This year, one of our big initiatives is to launch a allocation function efficiently and program that will give life to our corporate broaden opportunities for the values. Lest we do that, our values will remain ordinary Filipino. platitudes, good only for display in the corridors and hallways. We have to translate these in So we go on and work towards behavioral terms. While we know and continue these aspirations, through our to exert effort to ensure that everybody knows WIGs and Plans, and translate these how we intend to win, it is of equal important to mean Simpler. Faster. And Better. that we also define what values or behaviors are and in due time, move towards expected from us to execute our Mission. We Simplest Fastest and Best.A have to go beyond saying that Integrity is one of commitment to further improve our important corporate values. For one, is our competencies because we there any company who doesn’t say so? Really, understand that only by being

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competent will be able to render the service we commit to our customers for how can you render service if we do not understand what we are doing. It means we commit to be more efficient for only in attaining competitive efficiencies will be able to stay abreast our competitors and put the savings in efficiencies to customer service infrastructure. It means we open our hearts and minds to changes and innovations that offer the potential of either better service, improved efficiencies, and as a result - growth and profitability.

The 2009 budget is a transformational target. If we achieve this, we should finally convince ourselves that we are as good as they come.

And with that manifest a stronger sense of organizational pride, something that naturally grows from the tree of achievement. With the support of the Board to our initiatives and if the last two years are any indication, we have the momentum to get these numbers. And we as leaders in the organization must seize that momentum to a bigger step forward this year 2009.

Mabuhay ang EastWest!

erc

Yoga Class at EastWest Bank By: Oliver O. Pura, ERC

As part of EastWest Bank’s goal of making its employees fit and healthy, the Bank through its Employee Relations Council (ERC) has conducted a Yoga Class held on January 30, 2009. Our training room, located at the 21st Floor PBCom Head Office, served as the venue of the event. It has been transformed into an atmosphere fitted for Yoga.

Our Partner, I-Solve and Maxicare has invited an instructor, with more than ten years of experience, to facilitate the session. A total of 12 participants, from the head office and branches, joined the class.

“I will surely recommend yoga to people who really want to stretch a little after a day’s hard work. I really felt the surge of energy as I extend my arms and my legs while I’m trying to balance my whole weight on one leg. I must say that the feeling is exciting and challenging. Surely, it’s worth the time! “ - Len de Leon, department head of salary loans

Stress Management Lecture for SO’s

The Sulit Care Health and Wellness Club

On January 22, 2009, Metro Manila sales officers (SO) attended a lecture on Stress Management at the Grace Park Conference Room. All SO’s were there to take a break from the usual sales quota discussion. Dr. Lydia Mandac, an invited speaker by Maxicare and I-Solve, gave emphasis on topics such as different stressors, symptoms of distress cycle, and causes of job stress.

Here are some healthy ways shared by Dr. Mandac on how to cope with stress:

EastWest Bank, through Pfizer Inc. and Employee Relations Council (ERC), has introduced the Sulit Care Health and Wellness Club to its employee. It is an innovative value-added benefit program for Filipino-corporate workforce like EastWest Bank. The program aims to enhance the value (“Sulit”) of healthcare benefits that will provide employees exclusive access to research-based drugs at discounted prices and health and wellness information.

• • • • • •

Being a member of this club, one will enjoy the following benefits:

By: Oliver O. Pura, ERC

Eat a well-balanced healthy diet Get enough sleep and rest breaks Exercise regularly Limit caffeine and alcohol Learn and practice relaxation techniques Make sure to balance fun activities with responsibilities.

She also gave relaxation techniques to prevent stress such as meditation, imagery/visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, listening to music, and massage. According to Dr. Mandac, the most important defense to stress is the attitude towards things just like the character of Betty in the hit series Betty La Fea, a “bettyful” person inside out.

By: Oliver O. Pura, ERC

• •

Update on the latest issues and tips on how to stay fit and healthy through the health and wellness newsletter.

Avail of the significant discount in the price of Pfizer medicines and improve compliance in therapy through the SulitCare Card.

How to avail of the SulitCare Card?

• • •

Just present and submit a Pfizer medicine prescription from your personal or HMO doctor to our company doctor and ERC will immediately send to you your Sulit Card.

Check your health status through basic blood chemistry examination (cholesterol and sugar) and blood pressure monitor.

Receive discounts and special privileges from partner shops like New Balance stores, Stadium, The Athlete’s Foot, Adidas, Nike, Planet Sports, and Patient’s First Clinic by presenting the SulitCare card upon purchase of items. You can also avail of the prize discounts of different magazines such as Men’s Health, Smart Parenting, and Good Housekeeping.

Avail of these benefits at no cost. e-connect | page 7

cover story

Valuing Leadership: Bringing Leaders’ Night 2009 to Life

By: Yasmin Marie D. Velasco, Systems and Methods Division A true leader is pronounced for his ability and marked by his humility. His passion lies in service to the community. For EastWest Bankers, this passion for service is exemplified through the embodiment of our core values: Excellence, Integrity, Leadership, Innovation and Creativity, Mutual Concern, Teamwork and Individual Initiative, Sense of Urgency and Corporate Pride.

On February 21, 2009, EastWest Bank celebrated its annual Leaders’ Night graced by the Board of Directors, Senior Management and officers of the Bank as well as noted guests from AIG PhilAm Savings Bank. The event was organized by the human resource group, with the theme of “Bringing Our Values to Life” and hosted by retail credit group’s product manager Nico V. Salanio and distribution group’s institutional sales officer Marie Carmela A. Tanjutco. This focal point on values is a significant endeavor to further inculcate the Bank’s core values to its employees and leaders.

The agenda for this year’s Leaders’ Night began with welcoming remarks from chairman Jonathan T. Gotianun.

Following suit was a presentation of the results of the external Survey on Customer Experience, Needs and Expectations (S.C.E.N.E.) delivered by senior vice president and retail credit group head, Alex G. Ilagan. A discussion of the findings of the internal Sur vey Program on Employee Engagement, Commitment Index and Assessment of Leadership (S.P.E.C.I.A.L) by senior assistant vice president and human resource group head, Judy Grace DL. Capili, ensued thereafter.

Rounding off and highlighting the evening’s discourse was an insightful speech from president and chief executive officer (CEO), Antonio C. Moncupa, Jr. on the Bank’s 2008 Performance and 2009 Business Plans.

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cover story For the Bank’s 2008 performance, Mr. Moncupa stressed the Bank’s vision and corporate strategy vis-à-vis our wildly important goals (WIGs) in terms of financial target, employee engagement and customer engagement. He likewise presented the financial plans ranging from year 2008 to 2012, where profitability in terms of net income and return-on-equity was forecasted. In the same manner, Mr. Moncupa placed emphasis on the Bank’s vision and corporate strategy and WIGs as crucial to the strategic plans for 2009.

With this, the Bank’s financial projections are inclined to grow from the present year until 2013. In order to achieve this growth, key strategies were identified by him in the aspects of Human Resource Management, Customer Service Orientation and Efficiency Improvement.

Central to these key strategies, of course, is every EastWest Banker’s commitment to our core values which guides the Bank in harnessing its resources and realizing its goals. On this note, the management’s address for the Leaders’ Night was concluded.

Moving on with the festivity, five EastWest Bank branches shone onstage as they received their awards for being the top performers for the year 2008. Named honorable mention were Intramuros and GreenhillsAnnapolis (headed by Bick-Bick B. Jaucian and Mary Jane C. Chan, respectively); Third Place was given to New Manila (headed by Katherine N. Manguiat) while DavaoLanang (headed by Annabelle M. Piatos) bagged Second Place.

The prestigious “Branch of the Year” was awarded to Soler-Arranque (headed by Lorita H. Tee).

All officers and staffers of the five branches obtained monetary rewards for their respective distinctions.

Two personas shared the spotlight as they were hailed “Stars of the Night”: Division 9 head Rodney M. Jardiel and Melissa D. Abel of credit services group. Capping the night was an astounding performance of EastWest in Motion dancers grooving to the beats of vintage pop music.

All in all, the Leaders’ Night 2009 served as a strong reminder that as the Bank continues to thrive in the local industry, and gears towards progress in the global milieu, epitomizing these core values prove to be a challenge to each and every EastWest Banker.

Ultimately, the Bank’s triumph in becoming a world class bank anchored on service excellence will and hopes to be, in large part, a by-product of perfecting our humanity.

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e-value

The Value of Corporate Values By: Jem Ocampo, Human Resource

During the early years of my professional life, I used to ask, why do I need to align my personal values to that of the company? What is the importance of imbibing such?

As I go through the journey of being a professional, I eventually learned and felt the importance of it. How big the impact will be if employees like me would immerse oneself to the core values of the company.

Corporate Values guide us in our journey in achieving our Corporate Vision. It could take us to where we want to go, or it could hamper our steps in achieving it, if not lived up the right way. Thus, aligning ones personal values to that of the corporate values is very essential. It can definitely contribute much to the success of the organization. Our personal values give us clarity and focus on what we want to achieve in our lives and that includes our professional life. Alignment of both values can give us the sense of belongingness and ownership. It is as if the company is owned by each individual/ employee. And when we feel this, we always take into consideration the welfare of each member and the whole organization as well.

Living up our personal values to that of our corporate values, is living up to what the company/organization expects from us. One of which is building a positive culture that would create a very good impression to our customers. And it will all boil down to our values. And for us to have a good grasp of our Corporate Values, each was given an explanation:

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e-value

Integrity

Integrity is the state of being complete or undivided. It is a point of reference or a goal that is used to make decisions that rely on truth and honesty. It is the virtue of practicing what one preaches or practicing what one believes is right.

Excellence

Excellence is the state or quality of being better or greater. It is superiority or the state of being good to a high degree. It is the consistency of aiming for the highest quality standard.

Innovation and Creativity

Innovation and Creativity refers to the capability to think and communicate new ideas and perspectives, and turn them into something that is useful. It also includes personalizing and streamlining of work to make things easier.

Mutual Concern

Mutual concern is the act of kindness shown by the employees to the institution and vice versa, that is reciprocated with good intentions to balance and promote harmonious relationship. This shows concern for the welfare, dignity, and feelings of employees to build and enhance a positive organizational culture.

Teamwork & Individual Initiative

Teamwork is collaboration by a group of people to obtain a common objective. It is a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group.

Corporate Pride

Corporate pride is a matter of employees taking pride in the company and wanting the business to succeed. It means upholding the image of the company, believing in what it stands for, and a pledge of serving the institution. It is being passionate to belong to an organization where the employees are proud to be with.

Sense of Urgency

It is an inner drive and desire to get on with the job quickly and get it done fast. It results to thinking and responding quickly given the constraints, knowing the priorities, and planning ahead to show that we value the time of other people.

Leadership

Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leadership is motivating, inspiring and nurturing others to be able to achieve the company’s goal. The leader does not only give commands but more than that takes action.

Now after working for a couple of years, I see and believe the importance of aligning one’s personal values to that of the company. It would benefit the growth of both the employer and the employee. For in the journey of achieving the Vision of the company, both need each other.

How about you? How far have you gone in aligning your values to that of our Bank?

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leaders’ night 2009

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Retail Credit group head, Alex Ilagan presents the SCENE (Survey on Customer Expectations, Needs and Experience) results to the officers Bick-bick Jaucian (center), branch head of Intramuros receives their honorable mention award with Jo Pavon and Intramuros officers EastWest in Motion delights the audience with a different kind of dance number Retail Banking group head, Gerry Susmerano announces the branch awards including the highly coveted Branch of the Year award New Manila receives the third spot in the branch of the year award Elegant and charming ladies of Retail Credit: Leslie Patalinghug, Amie Gonzales, Ching Tan, Sally Macaraeg and Des Tomas

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leaders’ night 2009

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EastWest Bank power couple Tony and TJ Moncupa (second and third from left) with Sky Salanio, Carmi Tanjutco, Shie Omnes and Patty Harn DJ Jon Tupaz offers great mixes of 80’s and 90’s music Leaders’ Night attendees at the registration table Branch sales officers groove to the new wave dance music The stars of the night Rodney Jardiel and Melissa Abel with the event’s hosts Carmi Tanjutco and Sky Salanio More and more dancing and grooving President and CEO Tony Moncupa presents the highlights of the event, the 2008 bank performance and 2009 plans

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h.r. updates

New Leaders Take Center Stage By: Lisa V. Salumbides, Human Resource

The success of every Organization lies on the planned cooperation and coordination of its leaders and members. Leaders play a significant role in driving the success of any organization. Once again, EastWest Bank takes pride in welcoming the newest leaders in the first quarter of 2009.

Ernesto T. Uy Senior Vice President/Group Head - Corporate Banking Group 2

Ernest graduated magna cum laude at Dela Salle University with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He pursued a Masters Degree in Industrial Management in Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok. Prior to joining EastWest Bank, he was the unit head of commercial and regional lending group of BDO. Elisa O. Go First Vice President/Division Head - Corporate Banking Group 2

Elisa was the center head of corporate relationship group of Security Bank before joining EastWest Bank. She finished an Economics Degree at St. Paul College, Manila. She brings with her 32 years of banking experience.

Isabel S. Pijuan Vice President/Division Head - Systems and Methods Division

Ging is a Certified Public Accountant. She graduated BS Accountancy from St. Theresa’s College. She spent 26 years with UCPB. She was the vice president and head of technology planning and branch accounting department.

Steve L. Lim Senior Assistant Vice President/ Division Head - Corporate Banking Group 2 Steve was a BS Mathematics graduate from University of the Philippines, Diliman. He started his banking career in Asiatrust Bank as head of chinese lending unit. He later on joined BDO where he was a team leader and assistant vice president. His expertise is corporate accounts acquisition.

Catherine T. Tan Assistant Vice President/Senior Account Officer - Corporate Banking Group 2 Cathy was a seasoned relationship manager of Security Bank before joining EastWest Bank. She was responsible for bringing in new accounts within the Binondo area. She graduated a degree in Commerce Major in Accounting from the University of Santo Tomas.

Eduardo S. Dimla, Jr. Assistant Vice President/ Department Head - Card Operations Department Jun was formerly the finance manager of Standard Chartered Bank. He gained his extensive experience in card operations from Unionbank.

He earned a BS Accountancy degree from the University of the East.

Nico V. Salanio Senior Manager/Product Manager - Housing Loan - Retail Credit Group Sky finished an AB Management Economics Degree at Ateneo de Manila University. He brings with him eight years of expertise in credit cards and auto loans sales and product development. He was a product manager of AIG Philam Savings Bank before entering EastWest Bank.

Wilroy V. Ticzon Senior Manager/ System Admin Unit Head - Systems and Information Technology Group Roy has 12 years experience in systems administration and project management. He was formerly a sector head of system administration and engineering of iBank (now Unionbank). He finished BS Accountancy from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

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Romil D. Langones Senior Manager/ Senior Account Officer - Davao Desk- Corporate Banking Group 2

h.r. updates

Mil was an alumnus of Ateneo de Davao University with a degree of BS Accountancy. He passed the CPA Board exam in 1993.

He was an account officer of UCPB and BDO prior to joining EastWest Bank.

John Ramon H. Lopez Senior Manager/ Branch Head - Malate Branch Jack brings with him 13 years of extensive experience in branch sales and operations. He was formerly connected with iBank (now Unionbank) and served as branch head of Malate and Intramuros branches. He finished a BS Agribusiness degree from the Dela Salle College, Bacolod.

Christina J. Ong Senior Manager/ Branch Head - Del Monte Branch Tina was a relationship manager of Equitable PCI Bank prior to joining EastWest Bank. She started her career at BPI and later on joined iBank where she stayed for four years as branch head. She graduated from the Philippine School of Business Administration with a degree in Commerce Major in Marketing.

Nancy S. Amper Senior Manager/ Branch Head - Valero Branch Ace was a Dean’s Lister Accountancy graduate of St. Louis University, Baguio. She was a branch manager of Chinabank prior joining EastWest Bank. She has an extensive experience in branch sales and operations.

Davey Ketch S. Ariola Senior Manager/ Portfolio Management Unit Head Marketing Department - Retail Credit Group Davey finished BS Business Administration Major in Marketing from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. Prior to joining EastWest Bank, she was connected with AIG Credit Cards as product manager. She was responsible for the overall management of the AIG Credit Cards Flagship Brand.

Tristan DL. Flores Senior Manager/ Project Manager Systems and Methods Division – Financial Management and Control Group Tris was a senior manager, risk management officer V and head of computer operations department of PNB before entering EastWest Bank. His expertises are systems design and analysis, applications programming and project management. He was a graduate of University of Santo Tomas.

Lawrence S. Salido Senior Manager/ Project Manager Systems and Methods Division – Financial Management and Control Group Lawrence attained his Masters Degree in Information Management from the Ateneo Information Technology Institute. He was formerly a project manager of system development division of PNB. He also worked with UCPB and Citibank, NA. Oben Jesus B. Aloba Senior Manager/ Branch Head - Bacolod Branch Oben was a region head of Luzon Area of UCPB before joining EastWest Bank. He finished BS Commerce Major in Accounting Degree from the University of Negros Occidental- Recoletos.

Amy A. Go Manager/ Sales Officer - Grace Park Branch Amy has been in the banking industry for 18 years. Prior to joining Eastwest Bank, she was an assistant manager of Metrobank – Caloocan Branch. She finished BS Commerce Major in Accounting Degree from the University of Santo Tomas.

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h.r. updates

Angelito C. Tanghal Manager/ Branch Head - Baliuag Branch Lito was formerly a branch manager of Citystate Savings Bank. Prior to that, he was connected with RCBC Savings and Manila Bank where he handled branch sales and operations. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He earned his degree in BS Accounting from Adamson University.

Marietta C. Young Manager/ Branch Head - Laoag Branch Marie has 20 years banking experience in branch sales and operations. She started her banking career at Metrobank as an official assistant and later on became the branch manager. She earned an AB Journalism Degree from the University of Santo Tomas.

Mario D. Dela Peña Manager/ Branch Head - La Union Branch Mar started in Metrobank – La Union Branch as a staffer and rose from the ranks until he became the branch manager. He was a graduate of BS Commerce Major in Accounting at St. Louis University in Baguio.

Flordeliza B. Cabutin Manager/ Business Intelligence Officer - Retail Credit Group Flor was a BS Statistics graduate of the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She had worked at BDO as business intelligence officer before entering EastWest Bank. She has extensive experience in SAS programming, regression analysis and multivariate analysis.

Perla R. Arevalo Manager/ Customer Service Excellence Officer - Call Center Department Pearl is a seasoned customer service officer of AIG Philam Savings Bank prior to joining EastWest Bank. She served the Bank for 12 years where she rose from the ranks. She graduated BS Business Education Degree from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

Michael Bay T. Bayot Manager/ Pre- Evaluation Head - Credit Department – Retail Credit Group Mike graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines, Diliman with a Degree of BS Business Administration. He started as a management trainee at BPI and later on became an assistant manager of the systems management unit. Prior to joining EastWest Bank, he headed the New Accounts Unit of American Express.

Noah P. Rodriguez Manager/ Department Head - Housing/Salary Loans Collection Department Noah is a BS Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate of Technological Institute of the Philippines. He has extensive experience in collections and recovery management. He was a recovery officer of Standard Chartered Bank prior to joining EastWest Bank.

Danieca A. Yangco Manager/ Credit Policy Officer - Credit Services Group Dan is a cum laude graduate of the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She finished a BS Business Economics degree. She was a manager in Chinatrust before entering EastWest Bank.

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e-promos

Exciting New Credit Card Promos By: Oscar Navidad - Card Sales Department

BALANCE TRANSFER

Enjoy EastWest Bank’s 0% Balance Transfer for a 12-month term or get a Nokia 2630 Classic or Nokia 5310 Cellphone for a 24-installment term. Availing of a credit card balance transfer has never been this light and easy. This promo will run from March 1 to May 31, 2009. It is open to all active and current cardholders with at least a minimum amount of P 3,000 and not more than 85% of your EastWest Bank Credit Card’s total available credit limit at the time of availment of transfer.

CONVERT TO INSTALLMENT

Have you been dreaming of shopping for a new gadget or availing of a long overdue travel vacation? Have a worry-free shopping and summer escapes with your EastWest Bank credit card.You can now shop and travel ‘til you drop and convert your new purchases to 6, 12, 18, and 24- month installment terms. All active and current cardholders with a new retail and/ or cash advance of at least P 3,000 and availing of not more than 80% of their EastWest Bank Credit Card’s available credit limit at the time of availment may join this promo.

UNICEF

It has been said that children are the future and hope of our nation. There are children who need our help now who later on can become our future and hope. Kind-hearted cardholders can provide them with a brighter tomorrow by donating to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) through their EastWest Bank Credit Cards. Cardholders may opt to make a one-time donation or a monthly pledge in helping these children.

For more information of these credit card promotions, please refer to our flyers, visit our website www.eastwestbanker.com, or call our customer service hotline at 888-1700. e-connect | page 17

@ your service

Soler-Arranque Bags the Branch Of The Year (B.O.Y) By: Jadez dela Cruz, Strategic Management

“It was just like a Cinderella story after all, from a branch that opened in 2004 to 2006, I could say we are on 2nd or bottom part of branch rankings, then in 2007, I feel that we were leveling up...“ Richard N. Uy // Service Head - Soler //

As a whole, employees want to be recognized and feel that their contributions are noticed and valued.

W h e n we c o m e right down to it, financial reward is an important component of the reward system, but t h e re a re o t h e r factors such as praise and recognition from supervisors, that motivate employees and influence the level of performance. For the Bank, "rewarding" means providing incentives to and recognizing employees, individually, and as members of groups, for their performance and acknowledging their contributions to the Bank’s mission.

There are many ways to acknowledge a good performance, from a sincere "Thank You!" for a specific job well done to granting the highest level honors and establishing formal cash incentive and recognition award programs.

A Driving Force Promoting a healthy competition based on sales and service quality among EastWest Bank branches will motivate branch officers and staff to exceed customer service across the Bank. Thus, in 2007, the Branch of the Year (BOY) Award was established by the Bank's management to further reinforce the sales culture that we have in our Bank.

Soler-Arranque branch has been recently recognized at the Bank's annual "Branch of the

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Ye a r " a w a r d i n g during the Leaders’ Night on February 21, 2008 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel. The BOY was the most prestigious award given to any branch in our Bank. This is in line with the Bank's vision to be a world-class bank anchored on service excellence in our chosen markets.

All branches throughout the Bank were evaluated based on their achievements in attaining excellence in service quality, customer satisfaction, in becoming the main distribution channel of the bank by being able to sell all on-books and off-books products including all types of consumer loan products like auto, housing, salary loans and credit cards, and in contributing in a significant way in the income generation of the Bank.

The selection criteria were based on objective, comprehensive and explicitly measurable inputs. The branch must meet all the minimum qualifying conditions to be an eligible contender. (Refer to Figure 1.1 for the list of requirements).

First, the branch should be able to achieve 100% of its CASA budget and a minimum of Php 60 million CASA MTD ADB as of December 2008. Soler branch has

@ your service exceeded these targets by 208% and 188% respectively.

Likewise, the branch should also be profitable before the allocated cost in the year 2008. The branch should pull off all the performance appraisal (p.a.) deliverables of the branch head no less than a rating 3.0 each. These p.a. deliverables are composed of total CASA, Fee-based income, Profit and Loss (Net Income), Auto Loans, Consumer Loans (Housing, Salary, and Credit Cards), FCDU accounts and Peso High-Cost deposits on-books.

Also, total funds of the branch should meet the minimum requirement depending on the rank of the branch head.

In addition, the branch must attain at least a minimum satisfactory audit rating for the year. Next, it must have 85% and above grade on Customer Survey Rating.

According to TNS Global, the research agency that we partnered with in this project, there were a total of 1,416 respondents for the branches. Furthermore, Relationship Information Management (RIM) facilitation of requirements for all new accounts should be at least 90% complete for individual accounts and at least 95% complete for corporate accounts. Lastly, the branch should not had been involved in any administrative or CODE case.

The BOY Award was enhanced by establishing a stringent qualifying 4.01 cut-off score as a decisive factor for winning the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention awards. A total of five branches have met the minimum hurdle and the winning officers and staff down to the security guards, messengers and janitors were recognized and rewarded. Out of the 77 branches in 2008, SolerArranque branch bagged the Branch of the Year title.

Worth noting about the branch is that it went beyond its targets by more than 100% in most, if not all of its PA deliverables. Let us take a glimpse of what the key officers of the branch have to say.

Up-close and Personal Potential. Actually, Soler was not expecting to bag the title this year. But the branch had started to have a strong feeling when it noticed in the outset of third quarter of 2008 that it had a lot of 5.0 in all criteria of the scorecard. "Up to the last minute, we were in suspense. I had a strong feeling because we had perfect score in all categories. But I still allowed a little percentage that we might not be the first place," said Lorita Tee, the branch

head who joined the bank in January of 2008. When sales officers Jimmy Siy and Darwin Chua become aware that their scorecard ratings were all 5.0s with just only one 3.0, there was already an indication that they were getting there. "After we passed the audit, that was the time that we feel we were a strong contender for this prestige", said service head Richard Uy. Aim. When asked if they targeted to grab the achievement from the beginning of the year, Richard eagerly uttered, "Absolutely!" "It all started as a joke with one of the sales officers of Binondo (the Branch of the Year in 2007). I told her, just wait and see, next year, "kami na ang aakyat," said Jimmy. "We did not expect it to happen to us early in January. We just did our best trying very hard to improve the standing of Soler branch. The award is additional reward for us. We put a lot of hard work and perseverance – blood, sweat and tears," added Lorita. Even Darwin did not expect this winning.

According to him, they just put out all their effort as a team and before they knew it, they were already there.

Line of Attack. "Pure hardwork and positive outlook in everything I do," this is the approach of Darwin that put them into the "winning" position. What is more, Jimmy said that his secret to his share of their success is to, "increase the number of my client calls, keep on getting more prospects… more prospects means more clients… cross selling of other products… more focus. " According to Lorita, in addition to building up their client base by doing door-to-door mapping, the most important strategy is to get close to clients and satisfy all their needs. They visited them often and offered our various products, hoping that a particular product may be just what they are looking for.

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@ your service Restoration. "It was just like a Cinderella story after all, from a branch that opened in 2004 to 2006, I could say that we were on 2nd or bottom part of branch rankings, then in 2007, I feel that we are leveling up, and on January of 2008, Lorie Tee came to guide the whole branch for this success." – Richard Uy Fervor. Mixed emotions of cheerfulness and delight were the feelings of Soler team when it was confirmed to them that they were part of the top three. "Whew!!!

It was really a sigh of relief! Saya sobra! It’s like, finally the long wait is over," gleefully expressed by Jimmy. "It feels like all the hard work had paid-off… nanalo ako sa Lotto hehehe," added Darwin. On the other side, Richard humbly accepted that it was okay to be on top three and not to crave anymore for the BOY title and to just leave some excitement for themselves on Leaders' Night.

Impediment. It was inevitable that the branch also had its portion of challenges and obstacles encountered, which could have hindered it in the attainment of its goal. Still, they managed to handle these. Sales officer Jimmy said, "We were already entering the last quarter of the year, and yet we still have a rating of 3.0 in our housing loan / salary loan. Based on my experience with the processing, it takes almost six months before an account will be approved. Also, we can't offer salary loan to new clients yet. We later found out that we can offer salary loan to clients with existing line with us. So I did my best in convincing two of our clients to transfer their salary loan with other banks to us, which they eventually did." For Richard, it was audit. “There was a pressure on my part to pass audit rating. Then audit came in Septembe. Luckily, Fatima Arevalo, quality control officer, came a week before branch audit and helped us regularize some exceptions noted during her branch visit.”

Motivation. "It was for the love of EastWest Bank" said Darwin. "Aside from personal recognition (and winning the Branch of the Year distinction)... Hmm... I think one factor that really motivates me is the history of our branch head. Ma'am Lorie mentioned to me that during her stay with her former bank, she was always a BRIDESMAID, and never a BRIDE for three times. So, I told her, that this year, I will make you the BRIDE and no more BRIDESMAID," Jimmy confidently explained.

Gratitude. All in all, the whole team would like to thank their clients who have helped them in achieving their quotas. Both sales officers would like to thank each

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other for their healthy competition. “Indeed, it was a team effort.

Although with different degree of contribution, it’s better not to dissect," according to Lorita.

Prospect. When asked what the team’s plans are for next year, Jimmy stated that they will continue to be focused. "It's a healthy and open competition, but I would love to maintain our title. I'll do my very best, 'coz for sure the whole branch banking group's expectation will be high! For 2009, we will still give our best, and if the reward is another BOY award it will be very good. If not, it is ok. It will be very stressful if I have the mindset to maintain the title. I want to sound generous, let us give other branches the chance. Hehehe.” said Jimmy. “From where I came from, not a branch made it twice in a row since 2002, when I joined the previous bank. But I think, Ivy Uy (now RBG deputy group head) made it five times in a row before 2002. She is really very good," added Lorita.

Undeniably, WINNING means achieving what you set out to accomplish, either personally or as part of a team.

When you achieve the results you want, you WIN. If you fail to achieve the results you desire, you don't. Jimmy advised, "Everything depends on you! If you work hard, it eventually pays off. Always be optimistic. Don't let frustrations hold you down." Definitely, it was a privilege to be part of the BOY award and this has made employees like Soler’s service officer Richard Uy to be in high spirits each day. Simply seeing the plaque of recognition everyday inspires him to love his work and EastWest Bank.

e-recommends

Movie Review:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button By: Nessy Roces, Human Resource

“I was born under unusual circumstances.”

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is adapted from the 1921 short story of the same title, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Likewise, the film received thirteen Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor to name a few.

The plot is about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. Basically, it is an intimate epic about love and loss. I say epic because the movie was too long (165 minutes) for a theme as universal as love. In the middle of the film, I felt I was watching “Forrest Gump” in reverse.

I advice the audience to listen to the beautiful monologues delivered by the character of Benjamin, though. One that is truly remarkable is the scene when Benjamin (Brad) meets his dying father, Thomas Button, played

by Jason Flemyng. In the scene when he finally makes peace with the elder Button, Benjamin remarks “You may swear, you may curse, but in the end, you just have to let go.” He was referring to the hatred that he had nurtured towards his father who

abandoned and left him on a nursing porch shortly after he was born since he has the appearance and physical maladies of an elderly man. Benjamin’s life, depicted in the opposite fashion, is a soul-filling vision. It has been said that the unexamined life is not worth living. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” suggests an addendum: a life lived backwards can be far more enriching.

In reality, we are always encouraged to move forward but past setbacks or triumphs have always affected the way we shift toward the future. Nonetheless, the movie shows that whether we live life forward or backward, the outside is just a shell. It is what we choose to do with life that sifts out the best parts from the worst.

Watching this movie is very worthwhile. The movie deserves four stars since I predict that this will be a timeless classic. The plot is one of a kind though its main theme still revolves in the concept of love after all. It could have garnered a better rating if another actor portrayed Benjamin. Yes, Brad Pitt is a good thespian but I would have preferred other actors like Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, or even Sean Penn since they can deliver a more riveting and soulful performance compared to the former.

Or maybe it’s just me for I will always associate Brad in films that will incessantly highlight his magnificent looks.

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elan Consistent with our vision to be a world-class service provider, our employees, both male and female, are expected to project a corporate image. Our image must exude professionalism, competence and a passion for service. How can one project this image? It starts with visual impact. How can a professional lady banker complete the look? Here are some quick tips on applying the right makeup and wearing appropriate accessories for all the ladies out there.

Applying the right makeup to promote corporate image By: Shirleen Ate-Omnes, Human Resource

Imagine a female EastWest Banker in the frontline wearing the right uniform but without makeup. Will you be proud of her? Is she a world-class service provider? Let me guess your answer…

It’s a big NO. In a corporate world, we are judged by the way we look. Before we even start talking, our look speaks a lot already about our personality and may even give an impression about our capability. It may seem unfair but it’s the reality.

Definitely, the right makeup would enhance the corporate image and complete the professional look. On the side of the service provider, she will gain more self-confidence and project herself better in front of the customers.

Wearing the right makeup has the power to transform the face, create a professional image and boost self-confidence.

In the end, you will feel good about yourself and be ready to face the corporate challenges around you. So, what are you waiting for? Start experimenting on the steps and tips now, until you

Practically speaking, putting on makeup would require time, effort and investments. Given different concerns, responsibilities and financial obligations, makeup just comes as last priority. A number of ladies are apprehensive in putting on makeup due to sensitive skin. Some prefer the “fresh and natural” look, thus avoiding makeup. However, weighing the pros and cons, applying the right makeup is still a better choice. Makeup should enhance the image and not make you into someone else. It should give you an added dignity and not make you uncomfortable.

The philosophy with makeup should be, “less is more, and achieving maximum effect for minimum effort”.

achieve the corporate look that would suit you best.

Sources: www.beauty-cosmetic-guide.com and tips from EastWest Bank’s Image Enhancement Workshop

Here are general rules in makeup application that may come in handy: Lighting is important when you apply makeup. Put makeup in the kind of light you will be seen. Avoid applying makeup in fluorescent light.

Keep your clothes in mind. The makeup colors should be harmonious.

Today, we are choosing the look and the colors that are particularly suited to individual skin tone and texture and the particular features that we wish to highlight or downplay.

Knowing what is just right for you is the key to applying makeup.You have to take so many aspects into consideration, like your age, skin tone, type and texture, facial features, the clothes you will be wearing, your plus and minus points.

The natural trend in makeup favors a sheer, translucent look for the skin, with subtle use of foundations and bases. This means that the cosmetics you use should have light, sheer textures. This also means that your skin should be in good condition.

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elan

Wearing the right accessory for the professional look By: Tina L. Billedo, Human Resource

There are a lot of fashion accessories we can choose from nowadays. These accessories can complete the outfit that you are wearing or make it look as if you are overly dressed. Even if you are wearing the most beautiful dress, but without the proper accessories, it will still look as if something is lacking. A simple dress that you are wearing can look perfectly okay if you have the right accessories. The right amount of accessories also matters. Having a brooch, a scarf, and a belt all at the same time could be overwhelming for an outfit. Always remember less is more beautiful. A wide belt on a dress will look good and already accessorize the outfit.

In the corporate world, it is necessary that you look professional. You have to dress well for office because what you are wearing plays an important role in your career image. Office women should only wear minimal fashion accessories. Though there are already a wide range of accessories to choose from, we still have to be careful when choosing the right one.

Corporate image set by the company we are working with should also be considered.

Here are some of the very basic rule of thumb no-no’s to follow taken from www.helium.com of Style and Beauty written by Angelina Duell.

Flip flops Even if your job is as much fun as a day on the beach, don’t advertise it by wearing flip flops to work. Flip flops are the ultimate casual shoes and are meant to be worn around the house and on the sand. They’re not appropriate for office fashion. Plus, they make a distracting, snapping noise when you walk.

Jewelry Bright neon-colored earrings, necklaces, bracelets that take coworkers’ attention away from what you are telling them is always a bad idea. If you bought something because you thought it would entertain people you have to take into consideration the message it is sending across. Is your boss really going to think it’s cute if you have a pair of dangling earrings that look like chandeliers? You want to look professional and anything that will detract from that should be taken into consideration before being put on.

Finger nails Yes, these days they are considered accessory. Save those beautifully painted multi-colored art projects for that special occasion outside of the office.

Shoes If you have a typical 9 to 15 hours job in an office-setting such as a bank or a law firm, a 4 ½ inch-strappy-stiletto just isn’t appropriate.

Such shoes are better left for evenings out.

Wearing blinged-out shoes just says you don’t mean business.

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The main idea of choosing the right accessories is to maintain the professional appearance. Just keep it simple. Be mindful that what you wear affects how you are perceived and received.

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Your favorite Minnie mouse watch. Upgrade to an adult watch.

H a i r accessories. The one hair accessory to avoid with ponytails is a scrunchie. Unless you are cleaning your face at home, you should avo i d t h e f r u m py, unfashionable scrunchies.

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e-guide

Stressed out?

Take a deep breath and read this By: Oscar Navidad, Credit Cards

People get stressed for various reasons. It can be an emotional break-up, a physical exhaustion or a work-related concern. According to a study, 75% of all medical complaints are stress-related and 25% of employees view their work as the number 1 stressor (Source: Northwestern National Life). People cope with stress in different ways. Some eat voraciously, others indulge in a strenuous physical activity, while others simply sleep or hibernate it off like a bear or a turtle. A famous quote comes to mind, “Different strokes for different folks”.

75% of all medical complaints are stress-related

I guess there is no single prescription for coping with stress. It will also depend on the degree or complexity of the stressed being worked out. Some of the signs and symptoms of stress are: increased heart rate, tensed muscles, specially around the neck and shoulders, headaches, stomach pains, diarrhea, feeling of tiredness, having trouble concentrating, changes in appetite, insomnia, feeling anti-social and being anxious or bad tempered and impatient all the time(Source: Health Guide1998). Some of the common causes of job stress are: attitudinal concerns, increased in responsibilities and work load, relationship problems and type of working conditions or environment. The two most common reactions to stress is fight or flight. Stress has been defined by my Meriam-Webster and Garfield Dictionary as “1) A force that tends to distort a body 2) A factor that induces bodily or mental tension”.

So, the million peso question is how would we cope with job stress? These are my personal favorites: TAKE SOME DEEP BREATHS. Sometimes, we just simply have to calm ourselves down by taking some deep breaths as some yoga masters do. I normally do this as my initial reaction to stress. Breathing is a good stress exercise as it not only literally brings us fresh air but it also lowers down our blood pressure. Don’t breath too deep or too much as you might inhale someone with it and most probably hyperventilate in the end.

LAUGH WITH SOMEONE. It has been said that laughter is the best medicine and it does a lot of wonders.This has been a time tested solution to life’s many ailments. As Filipinos, this is one of our greatest traits that we have as nation. And this has always proven how resilient we are in adapting to a lot of stress in our lives. I guess laughing with someone makes us realize not to take life too seriously or it might take us seriously somewhere else, hopefully not in the building’s rooftop.A word of caution though, be careful not to laugh alone as it is always safer to laugh with someone else most especially in our workplace as it might be construed as something else.

TALK TO A FRIEND. Talking has always been a good way to release stress.This has been pioneered by Sigmund Freud and is widely used by a lot of clinical psychologists. Talking our stress out to a friend brings out our angst or deep seated feelings, even if we don’t find a solution to it outright. It is a good emotional or mental exercise in releasing our conscious or unconscious tensions or loads. It also helps us to know that we are not or is never alone in facing stress or life for that matter. Plus, we get to have a free advice from a friend who might have experienced the same type of stress before so we don’t have to redo everything in coping with it. Be careful though in talking to your friend too much during office hours.

TAKE A BREAK OR A WALK.This is one of best ways to cope with office stress. Sometimes when we are too intense with a problem or stress, we tend not to see the whole forest. Or we simply get stuck in it. By taking a break or walk, we are giving our mind some time to rest and be rejuvenated. Sometimes, we simply have to be detached to the stress we are experiencing, so we can have a better perspective.

Based on a study, some of the best ideas often come when we are having coffee, walking around or sitting in a park.

DO SOME CHAIR or HALLWAY EXERCISES. Sedentary lifestyle is considered to be one of the major causes of death in this century. This means that we have to move our butt. This way our officemates will also know that we are still alive. By doing some exercises at the office in our chair or along the hallway we are releasing some pent-up physical tensions that are building up during our

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“toxic” office situations. In addition, it releases some hormones that help us in coping with our office stress much similar to an adrenaline rush.

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND THINK OF A HAPPY THOUGHT. Psychologists call this mental imagery. Similar to taking a break or a walk, this gives us a breather. This helps us to take our mind off our stress and reboot our thoughts. It is also one of the best ways to relax. Be careful though of closing your eyes too long, lest your boss think you are sleeping on the job.

FACE THE PROBLEM. This is the strategy that most of the warriors in us use. Cut fast and cut clean. Why prolong the agony?

Why linger on the problem or stress and allow it to swallow us alive?

Sometimes, the best way to handle stress is to face it headway. Finish it off and say “Hasta la vista Baby”. Kill the stress quickly and live your life. Free yourself from stress in one swift action, just like the Nike ad, “Just do it”.

TIME MANAGEMENT. If the stress or problem that you are facing is too daunting, cut them into chunks or pieces in order to manage them more efficiently and effectively. By prioritizing the stress or problems, you are giving yourself the power over them. Remember, we only have two hands and we can only do so much in one time.

Overwhelming ourselves will not solve anything. We have to make a conscious effort to focus in solving one task at a time.

LET GO. Sometimes, there are stressors or problems that we can’t simply do anything about no matter how hard we try. Sometimes it solves itself over time, maybe a week later. Other times, it is meant not to be solved. Then, we just have to stop and say The Serenity Prayer:” God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” Learn to let go. There is more to life than being stucked.

We simply have to move on or else life will move on without us.

BE POSITIVE, STAY POSITIVE. Attitude makes a lot of difference in facing life’s challenges. By being positive and staying positive no mountain seems to be insurmountable. As they say, the road to happy life starts with a single step. However, even if you make that step, and in your mind you already feel defeated, you will never get to the end of the road.A lot of authors have already written about the power of positive thinking. I believe that positive thinking is the best, if not one of the best cure in handling stress and in facing life. Always remember that we can do it, like, “papayat din ako”, “magkaka girl/ boyfriend din ako”, or “tataas din sweldo ko”, if we put our positive mind and heart to it.

e-poll

A summer to remember By: Oliver O. Pura, ERC

Summer is just around the corner. Almost everyone is busy preparing for their summer outing activity. Where do you plan to go?

Wherever it is, you will surely experience unforgettable memories that will last for a lifetime. Here are some of the stories shared by our fellow EastWest Bankers: Xavier C. Ramos, Marketing Head – Auto Loans “Last year’s summer was my most memorable one. One typically hot summer weekend, my family and I decided to hit the road going to Donsol, Sorsogon equipped with nothing but a road map to check out what this interaction with the whale sharks was all about. We left very early, around 4:00 am, and reached the place at about 12:30 am the following day. We had a very long trip and a slow one since it was our first time to visit the place. We took a lot of wrong turns but it was okay since they were all part of the adventure we were looking for. We had to wake up at 6:00 am the same day since we were advised that we have to be early because the whale sharks or the Butanding sharks usually surface early in the morning to eat. By 8:00 am, we were on our boat searching for these Butandings. It was a long wait and I was beginning to think that we won’t encounter these whale sharks. Suddenly, I heard our spotter shouting, “Meron na!” Our swimmer guide instructed us to jump into the water as soon as he says so. I was getting scared and was about to chicken out when I heard, “Jump!” I do not know by what force got into me that I jumped without thinking, together with my whole family. When I dipped my head into the water, it was an awesome sight! My family and I were swimming with two big whale sharks, each

was bigger than a Pantranco Bus. It did not seem real as I looked at these two gentle giants gracefully swimming with us.

What an experience!”

Bernadette V. Sabado, Legal Associate - Legal Services Department ”My most memorable s u m m e r experience was during my on-the-job training. We were assigned in an organization that takes care of m e n t a l l y a n d p hy s i c a l l y challenged children. It was an incredible experience for me since I was blessed with an opportunity to reach out to those children, communicate with them and get to experience how special they really are. That summer was not only memorable but also a life-changing experience for me.”

Mark Joseph I. Vinluan Service Assistant Treasury Transaction Processing & Settlement “ M y unforgettable s u m m e r vacation was when my family and I had a trip in Bohol. It was my first time to travel to a far province like Bohol. We had a chance to visit the oldest church there and able to see the chocolate hills personally. Bohol is such a nice place to visit.”

Valerie Dianne T. Vergel De Dios Sales Associate – Quezon Ave. Branch "It was last year when we went to Ilocos Norte with a couple of my friends. We had a friend, who used to be a fellow EastWest Banker, that gave us a wonderful tour. The trip was really a challenge for us since we only have a day and a half to visit all the tourist spot. Let's just say I was half asleep doing my work the next morning but thinking that what we had shared over the weekend made my day!"

Rochelle D. Rosella, Sales Associate – Calamba Branch “One of my unforgettable s u m m e r experiences was in 1998 when our whole family went to Canada for the first time to attend my grandma's birthday party. On our way home, we made a side trip to the US to visit other relatives.

Aside from that, we were able to visit all the tourist spots that were very remarkable including Disney, Universal Studios and many more....”

John Paul P. Llamas Cash Service Staff Cash Services Department Katipunan “ M y unforgettable s u m m e r experience happened last March 2006 a t B o r a c ay Regency, when I proposed to my ex-fiancée..sob!”

Margaret Ann C. Bacani, Institutional Sales Officer – Institutional/ Corporate Sales “It was one summer when m y s i s t e r, Kr ystle , invited us to celebrate her graduation in Boracay. With a lot of things to take care of here in Manila, I told her that I will follow a day after her flight. I invited this guy I was seeing to join me in the celebration.

For some reason, I had to move my flight and can’t leave that day and have to move it the next day. That same night, my youngest sister, Claudine got confined in the hospital.

So I called Krystle to tell her that I have to cancel my plans of going to Boracay.

She dropped the phone on me and was disappointed that I couldn’t come. I told Claudine what happened and just told me to go. This time, it’s a surprise. Only in Caticlan on the way to the hotel when I told Krystle. She was super ecstatic.

Two days spending time on the beach with Krystle, her friends, and the guy I was dating. I was really having a blast. Little did I know I had a surprise for myself. The guy I was seeing proposed to be my boyfriend. I was really happy.

This experience made it unforgettable for I came home w i t h a h a p p y s i s t e r, a boyfriend, and a recovering sister in Manila. How can you beat that?”

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