MANILA - EastWest Bank is "undervalued" compared to the reported offer price of 2 Korean lenders that are eyeing a stake in the Philippine bank, its CEO, Antonio Moncupa, said Friday.

The bank's net income in the second quarter grew 66 percent to P1.3 billion, outpacing its much larger rivals as its aggressive network expansion bore fruit, Moncupa told The Briefing on ANC's Market Edge with Cathy Yang.

EastWest can grow to a big player from mid-tier through a private placement, share right offer or mergers and acquisitions, and it will pursue whatever "optimizes shareholder returns," he said.

Moncupa said he would deepen the management bench to support EastWest's expansion. From 186 branches and offices in 2012, the bank had grown to 460.