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Non-Tech : East-West Bankcorp (EWBC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Lee who wrote (24)	4/13/2000 9:46:00 AM
From: Paul Lee	Respond to of 36

another great qtr East West Bancorp Reports Another Quarter of Record EPS; Continued Gains in Net Interest Margin and Efficiency Ratio Drive 46% Increase in EPS SAN MARINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2000-- Cash EPS Climbs 58% Year Over Year and 14% from 4th Quarter 1999 ROE Climbs to 23%, 44% Above Prior Year Management Anticipates Another Record Year of Earnings in 2000 East West Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, one of the nation's best performing community banks and a leading financial institution focused on the Chinese-American and other niche markets, today announced record financial results for the first quarter of 2000. Contributing to another quarter of record earnings were continued increases in the net interest margin, efficiency ratio and strong asset growth. Highlights for the quarter included: -- Net interest income rose 35% while the net interest margin climbed to 4.01% due to strong growth in loans and only a modest rise in the cost of funds; -- 43% increase in average loans outstanding to $1.6 billion, including 30% organic growth, compared to the first quarter of 1999; -- Issuance of $10.8 million of trust preferred securities to fund future growth; -- Closing of the American International Bank ("AIB") acquisition; -- Average total deposits grew 28% to $1.7 billion, reflecting a 79% increase in average non-interest bearing deposits, compared to the first quarter of 1999; -- Efficiency ratio of 38%, with additional savings expected from continued integration of AIB. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2000 rose by 45% to a record $8.7 million, with diluted earnings per share increasing 46% over the prior year to $0.38. Cash earnings, which exclude the amortization of intangible items, were $9.2 million, or $0.41, 58% greater than in the first quarter of 1999 and 14% above the $0.36 cash EPS reported for the fourth quarter of 1999. Return on average assets for the first quarter was 1.50%, while return on average equity was 23.08%, compared to 1.19% and 15.98% for the prior year period, respectively. Dominic Ng, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The record financial results for the first quarter not only demonstrate the success of our growth strategy and operational strength, but also serve as an indication of our ability to generate yet another record year of performance. Through increased penetration of our core corporate middle market, we achieved both strong organic loan growth and further portfolio diversification. As a result of both our internal efforts and benefits accrued through our acquisitions, we generated increases in our core deposits that provided a more balanced deposit mix and restrained the growth in our cost of funds. Combined, these two successes helped East West attain our net interest margin goal of 4.00%, even in the face of a rising interest rate environment, while maintaining our exceptional efficiency and asset quality ratios. In addition, we successfully completed the acquisition of American International Bank, achieving meaningful cost reductions and increasing our liquidity through the addition of substantial amounts of low cost core deposits. Late in the quarter, we completed the private issuance of nearly $11 million of trust preferred securities to provide capital support for future expansion. In addition, we also hired a number of new senior managers that added several new key capabilities. In all, the achievements and actions completed during the first quarter confirm the success of our strategy to serve as California's financial bridge and position us well for continued success throughout the remainder of the year."