East West Bank Changes Hands; Will Remain Headquartered In California
East West Bank is the fourth largest commercial bank in Southern California and one of the largest financial institutions in the U.S. focusing on the Chinese-American community, with assets of $1.7 billion as of March 31, 1998. The Bank reported record earnings of $3.0 million during the quarter ended March 31, 1998, up 30 percent from $2.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 1997.
Headquartered in San Marino, California, East West Bank has 22 branches throughout the state. A twenty-third branch will open in Milpitas later this year, its second branch office located within Silicon Valley. Through its branch network, the Bank provides a wide range of multi-lingual personal and commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, business executives, professionals and other individuals. East West Bank also engages in a full complement of lending activities, including international trade finance, commercial and residential real estate, construction, working capital, account receivables and inventory. The Bank also provides an extensive line of cash management products and other commercial depository services.
East West Bank was chartered by the Federal Home Loan Bank board in 1972 as the first federally-chartered savings institution serving the Chinese-American community, and opened for business at its first office in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles on January 3, 1973. Over the past 25 years, as California's burgeoning Chinese community continued to expand, so did East West Bank. Today, the Bank concentrates on marketing its services in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the San Francisco Bay area and the Silicon Valley in Santa Clara County, with a particular focus on regions with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese. As California continues to gain momentum as the hub of the Pacific Rim and the world's 7th largest economy, East West Bank is well-positioned and provides important competitive advantages to its customers doing business in the Asia-Pacific marketplace. |
