Page 1

EASTWEST BANK Your financial bridge® NEWS RELEASE FOR INVESTOR INQUIRIES , CONTACT : Irene Oh Chief Financial Officer T : ( 626 ) 768-6360 E : irene.oh@eastwestbank.com EAST WEST BANCORP REPORTS NET INCOME FOR THIRD QUARTER 2021 OF $ 225 MILLION AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE OF $ 1.57 Julianna Balicka Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Finance T : ( 626 ) 768-6985 E : julianna.balicka@eastwestbank.com Pasadena , California October 21 , 2021 East West Bancorp , Inc. ( " East West " or the " Company " ) ( Nasdaq : EWBC ) , parent company of East West Bank , today reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2021. Third quarter 2021 net income was $ 225.4 million , or $ 1.57 per diluted share ; return on average assets was 1.46 % , and return on average equity was 15.75 % . " This was another quarter of outstanding results . Our total loans reached a record $ 40.5 billion as of September 30 , 2021. Loans grew by 11 % annualized from June 30 , 2021 , and by 11 % from September 30 , 2020 , excluding the impact of the Paycheck Protection Program . This growth has come from all of our major loan portfolios of commercial , residential mortgage and commercial real estate , " stated Dominic Ng , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of East West . " Total deposits reached a record $ 53.4 billion as of September 30 , 2021 , driven by excellent growth in demand deposits . This has transformed our deposit mix . Noninterest - bearing demand deposits now make up 43 % of total balances , compared with 36 % a year ago . " " Our robust organic balance sheet growth drove a 21 % annualized increase in revenue quarter over - quarter , even as interest rates remained low . This revenue expansion was achieved while maintaining solid expense discipline , resulting in adjusted pre - tax , pre - provision income¹ growth of 26 % annualized from the second quarter , " continued Ng . " Overall , we earned an attractive return on average tangible equity2 of 17.25 % in the third quarter of 2021. " FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS " We are looking forward to finishing the year on a high note , and extending the momentum and excellent performance from 2021 into continued growth and success in 2022 , " concluded Ng . ( $ in millions ) Total Loans ( incl . PPP ) Total Loans ( excl . PPP ) Total Deposits Total Revenue Adj . Pre - tax Pre - provision Income¹ Net Income Three Months Ended September 30 , 2021 $ 40,482 39,674 53,356 East West Bancorp , Inc. 135 N. Los Robles Ave. , 7th Fl . Pasadena , CA 91101 Tel . 626.768.6000 $ ¹ See reconciliation of GAAP to non - GAAP financial measures in Table 12 . ² See reconciliation of GAAP to non - GAAP financial measures in Table 13 . 1 469 302 225 Qtr - o - Qtr Change $ % Ann . $ 4 % 11 6 21 % 26 1 $ 408 1,034 774 24 19 1 Yr - o - Yr Change $ % $ 3,040 4,005 11,676 $ 90 78 66 8 % 11 28 24 % 35 41