Helping Asian Wealth Management Communities Interact
Strategy & Practice Management
Rapidly growing a diversified investment platform
Dr. Robert Ramos of EastWest Bank
Apr 3, 2018
Dr. Robert B. Ramos, Senior Vice President, Trust Officer, and CIO, East West Bank, talks about the bank’s operations in the Philippines and how it plans to expand and grow its business in the Asian nation.
East West Bank will have to be more product and distribution savvy and work harder to attract clients and to scale going forward, according to Ramos. The bank has a very significant branch network, according to Ramos, and the first thing that they have to do is reorient these branches towards the products that the bank has.
Ramos, who joined East West a few months ago, says that over that period, the only thing he has been doing is talking to branches, telling them about all the products that the bank can offer.
“If we utilise that more as we visit all of these branches, the interest that we could drum up would be quite interesting,” he says. “It’s a matter of mixing and matching, getting the right product for the right client, and if there are clients that need something a little more exotic, then it is about putting these products together.”
Also, to cater to what he calls an evolving client demands in the country, East West will engage with foreign fund managers in the coming future. “I believe that relationships such as those will have to happen in the future,” he says. “The client base is literally asking for such products, so it’s a no-brainer that the bank will be creating its own or engaging with foreign fund managers for them.”
“Whether we will do it a year from now, two or three years from now, I’m not sure, but it’s something that has to be done within the next few years,” he stresses.
Going forward, Ramos’ immediate priorities at the bank include to service the clients better and improve the returns of the funds. “The second is maybe look at giving them more access to products here and abroad, both on a directional and discretionary basis,” he says. “And of course, ensure compliance and governance.”
Senior Vice-President, EastWest Bank Trust Officer and Chief Investment Officer at EastWest Bank
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