EAST WEST BANCORP INC (EWBC) Business

ITEM 1.  BUSINESS

Organization

East West is a bank holding company incorporated in Delaware on August 26, 1998, and is registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (“BHC Act”). The Company commenced business on December 30, 1998 when, pursuant to a reorganization, it acquired all of the voting stock of East West Bank (“East West Bank” or the “Bank”), which became its principal asset. East West’s principal business is to serve as a holding company for the Bank and other banking or banking-related subsidiaries that East West may establish or acquire. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $80.4 billion in total assets, $56.1 billion in total net loans, $67.1 billion in total deposits, and $8.9 billion in total stockholders’ equity.

The Company operates in over 110 locations in the U.S. and Asia. In the U.S., the Bank’s corporate headquarters and main administrative offices are located in California. Its 96 U.S. branches are located in California, Texas, New York, Washington, Georgia, Massachusetts and Nevada. In Asia, the Bank has branches in China and Hong Kong, and representative offices in China and Singapore.

East West Bank has a commercial banking license in China through its subsidiary, East West Bank (China) Limited (“EWCN”), which makes it unique among U.S.-based regional banks. This license allows the Bank to have branches, make loans and accept deposits in China. The Bank continues to develop its international banking presence in Asia with its network of overseas branches and representative offices. In addition to facilitating traditional letters of credit and trade financing to businesses, these representative offices allow the Bank to assist existing clients and develop new business relationships. Through its branches and offices, the Bank focuses on growing its cross-border client base between the U.S. and Asia, helping U.S.-based businesses expand in Asia, and assisting companies based in Asia pursue business opportunities in the U.S.

The Bank believes its customers benefit from its deep understanding of the Asian market, which is supported by its physical presence, strong corporate and organizational ties in the region, and its international banking products and services. The Bank believes this approach, combined with its senior management and Board of Directors’ ties to Asian business opportunities and Asian American communities, provides the Bank with a competitive advantage. The Bank utilizes its presence overseas to identify and build corporate relationships, which the Bank may leverage to create business opportunities in California and other U.S. markets.

Banking Services

As of December 31, 2025, East West Bank was the largest independent commercial bank headquartered in Southern California based on total assets. The Bank is also the largest independent bank in the U.S. focused on the financial service needs of individuals and businesses that operate both in the U.S. and Asia, and has a strong focus on the Asian American community. Through its network of over 110 banking locations in the U.S. and Asia, the Bank provides a wide range of personal and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. The Bank provides services to its customers in English, Spanish and various Asian languages and dialects. In addition to offering traditional deposit products that include personal and business checking and savings accounts, money market, and time deposits, the Bank also offers foreign exchange, treasury management and wealth management services. The Bank’s lending activities include commercial and residential real estate lending, construction finance, commercial business lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, letters of credit, affordable housing lending, asset-based lending, asset-backed finance, project finance, equipment financing and loan syndication. The Bank also provides financing services to clients to facilitate their business transactions between the U.S. and Asia. Additionally, to support the business needs of its customers, the Bank offers hedging advisory and various derivative contracts such as interest rate, energy commodity and foreign exchange contracts.

The integration of digital with brick-and-mortar channels has been an area of investment for the Bank, for both commercial and consumer banking. Our strategic priorities include the use of technology to innovate and expand commercial payments, treasury management, and consumer banking products and services. We have developed mobile and online banking platforms, which are continually enhanced to enrich our customer’s user experience, and which offer a full suite of banking services tailored to our customers’ unique needs. In our view, the omnichannel banking service approach increases efficiency and deepens customer relationships.

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Operating Segments

The Bank’s three operating segments, (1) Consumer and Business Banking, (2) Commercial Banking and (3) Treasury and Other, are based on the Bank’s core strategy. The Consumer and Business Banking segment primarily provides financial products and services to consumer and commercial customers through the Company’s domestic branch network and digital banking platforms. The Commercial Banking segment primarily generates commercial loans and deposits. The remaining centralized functions, including the corporate treasury activities of the Company, tax credit investment activity, eliminations of inter-segment amounts, and centrally managed departments, are aggregated and included in the Treasury and Other segment. For complete discussion and disclosure, see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) — Results of Operations — Operating Segment Results and Note 17 — Business Segments to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

Competition

The Bank operates in a highly competitive environment. The Company faces intense competition from domestic and foreign lending institutions, numerous other financial services providers and other new technology-driven products and services. Competition is based on a number of factors including, among others, customer service and convenience, quality and range of products and services offered, reputation, fees, interest rates on loans and deposits, and lending limits. Competition also varies based on the types of customers and locations served. The Company is a leader of banking market share in the Asian American community. The Company maintains a differentiated presence within selected markets by providing cross-border commercial banking expertise to customers operating in the U.S. and Asia.

While the Company believes it is well positioned within a highly competitive industry, the industry could become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory, economic, and technological changes, as well as continuing consolidation.

Human Capital

As a company that delivers relationship-driven financial solutions to our customers, we believe the strength of our workforce is one of the most significant contributors to our success. Our key human capital objectives are to attract, develop, and retain quality talent that embody our values and enable us to attract customers and serve them effectively. To achieve these objectives, our human resource programs have been designed to incorporate our core values of absolute integrity, customer orientation, creativity, respect and fairness, teamwork, expertise and professionalism, and selflessness. Embracing these core values positions our employees to better serve our customers and pave the way for their future career advancement. We are committed to strengthening our recruiting process and growing internal talent to prepare for our next phase of growth. We also seek to recognize our employees for their contributions and service to the Bank.

As of December 31, 2025, we had 3,350 full-time equivalent employees. The majority of our workforce consisted of full-time employees who were located in our core markets in California, Texas, and New York. The Company’s full-time equivalent employees also included approximately 300 employees located in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement.

Talent Acquisition, Development, Promotion and Engagement

An experienced, dedicated and well-qualified workforce is essential in delivering high quality and reliable banking services to our customers and in managing the Company. We endeavor to attract, develop, and retain motivated individuals as part of our ongoing commitment in building a strong workforce to serve our customers and communities. In 2025, we were able to continue our quality hiring efforts with nearly 600 external new hires.

The focus on leadership development and promoting from within is a critical part of our succession planning for key roles throughout the organization and fostering organizational stability. We recognize the importance of employee development and career growth in supporting employee retention, which is one of the Company's strategic objectives. In 2025, approximately 16% of our employees advanced their careers within the Bank through 550 internal promotions or new opportunities, which highlights our commitment to rewarding results-driven performance. We also provide a variety of resources to help employees grow in their current roles and acquire new skills for future advancement through continuing education and tuition reimbursement.

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We celebrate our employees’ dedicated years of service to the Bank through our Milestone Anniversary Program, which offers rewards and recognition through gifts and events upon attaining certain service milestones. As of December 31, 2025, over 350 of our employees had celebrated 20 years or more of service. Our dedication to results-driven performance earned us the recognition of the top-ranked performing bank in the $50 billion and above asset category in Bank Director’s 2025 Ranking Banking study, and top three in the American Banker’s 2025 list of top-performing banks with more than $50 billion of assets.

Employee compensation packages include a competitive base salary and, subject to Company and individual performance, may include an annual cash and/or stock incentive bonus. As part of our commitment to fair and equitable compensation programs, we regularly assess the current business environment and labor markets to review our compensation and benefits program for pay equity. The Bank maintains a deferred compensation plan and matches 75% of the U.S. employees’ contributions up to the first 6% of their eligible compensation. See Item 7. MD&A — Results of Operations — Noninterest Expense in this Form 10-K for further discussion of compensation and employee benefits expense.

To foster a strong sense of ownership and to align the interests of our employees with our stockholders, restricted stock units (“RSUs”) are awarded to eligible employees under our stock incentive programs. We also award stock grants under our “Spirit of Ownership” program to all our employees, regardless of job title or part-time/full-time status. The program allows each employee to share directly in the Company’s success. In 2025, the Company granted over 560 thousand RSUs as part of its stock compensation programs.

Health and Well-being

We are committed to supporting our employees’ well-being by offering flexible and competitive benefits. We offer a hybrid schedule to promote flexibility and enhance productivity. Comprehensive health insurance coverage (medical, dental and vision) is offered to employees working at least 30 hours each week. We further demonstrate our commitment to employee well-being by absorbing the increases in our employees’ health benefits. We offer life insurance, disability insurance, parental leave, wellness and benefits programs designed to assist employees in maintaining a healthy work-life balance, paid time off such as vacation hours, and 10 days of annual sick time, which is more than the required allotment from any of the states in which we do business. We also offer an Employee Assistance Program, which aids benefits-eligible employees and their household members with personal and professional issues. We apply a consistent approach towards employee policies, opportunities, benefits, and protections to all employees regardless of their locations, except if there are contradictions with applicable laws and regulations.

Commitment to Community

We are committed to making positive and lasting impacts in our communities through our business activities and our volunteer and charitable efforts. We engage in meaningful and effective programs that help increase homeownership, preserve affordable housing, promote wealth building, enable greater access to banking services and help alleviate homelessness.

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Information about our Executive Officers

The following table presents the Company’s executive officers’ names, ages, positions and offices, and business experience during the last five years as of February 27, 2026. There is no family relationship between any of the Company’s executive officers or directors. The Board of Directors of the Company appointed each of the executive officers.

Supervision and Regulation

Overview

East West and the Bank are subject to regulations under U.S. federal and state laws. Regulation and supervision by the federal and state banking agencies are intended primarily for the protection of depositors, the Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”) administered by the FDIC, consumers, and the banking system as a whole, and not for the protection of our investors. As a bank holding company, East West is subject to primary regulation, supervision, and examination by the Federal Reserve under the BHC Act. The Bank is regulated, supervised, and examined by the Federal Reserve, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”), and, with respect to consumer laws, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). East West Bank is a California state-chartered bank, and its deposits are insured by the FDIC. As the insurer of the Bank’s deposits, the FDIC also has back-up examination and other regulatory authority over the Bank. In addition, the Bank and its foreign subsidiaries and branches are regulated by the foreign regulatory agencies in the international jurisdictions where we have a presence, including the People’s Bank of China, China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. East West also has a wholly-owned nonbank subsidiary, East West Markets, LLC ("East West Markets"), which is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA"). East West Markets is subject to regulatory requirements from several regulatory bodies, including the SEC, FINRA, and state securities regulators.

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The Company is also subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations adopted by the SEC thereunder. Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “EWBC” and we are subject to Nasdaq rules for listed companies.

Described below are certain provisions of selected statutes and regulations that are applicable to East West and the Bank and that have a material impact on our business. The descriptions of these statutes and regulations are not intended to be complete, nor are they meant to fully address their effects and potential effects on East West and the Bank. The following descriptions are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the statutes and regulations. A change in applicable statutes, regulations or regulatory policies may have a material effect on the Company’s business.

East West

As a bank holding company and pursuant to its election of financial holding company status, East West is subject to regulation, supervision, and examination by the Federal Reserve under the BHC Act. The BHC Act provides a federal framework for the regulation and supervision of bank holding companies and their nonbank subsidiaries. The BHC Act and other federal statutes grant the Federal Reserve authority to, among other things:

•require periodic reports and such additional information as the Federal Reserve may require;

•require bank holding companies to maintain certain levels of capital and restrict dividends and other distributions from bank holding companies and their subsidiaries (see the sections captioned “Regulatory Capital Requirements” and “Dividends and Other Transfers of Funds” included elsewhere under this item);

•require bank holding companies to serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to subsidiary banks and commit resources, as necessary, to support each subsidiary bank, including at times when bank holding companies may not be inclined to do so;

•require bank holding companies to terminate an activity or terminate control of or liquidate or divest certain nonbank subsidiaries, affiliates or investments if the Federal Reserve believes that the activity, ownership, or control of the nonbank subsidiary or affiliate constitutes a serious risk to the financial safety, soundness or stability of the bank holding company, or if the activity, ownership, or control is inconsistent with the purposes of the BHC Act;

•regulate provisions of certain bank holding company debt, including a bank holding company obtaining prior approval to purchase or redeem its securities in certain situations;

•approve in advance certain senior executive officer or director changes and prohibit certain golden parachute payments to officers and employees, including change in control agreements and new employment agreements, that are contingent upon termination; and

•approve in advance the acquisitions of and mergers with bank holding companies, banks and other financial companies, and consider competitive, managerial resources, financial stability and other factors in granting these approvals. DFPI approval may also be required for certain acquisitions and mergers involving a California state-chartered bank such as the Bank.

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East West has elected to be a financial holding company under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (“GLBA”). Financial holding companies are generally allowed to engage in, or acquire and retain ownership in a company engaged in any activity that the Federal Reserve has determined to be financial in nature or incidental or complementary to activities that are financial in nature, without prior Federal Reserve approval. Activities that are considered financial in nature include securities underwriting and dealing, insurance agency and underwriting, merchant banking activities and activities that the Federal Reserve, in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, determines to be financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity. To maintain financial holding company status and continue to be able to engage in new activities or investments that are financial in nature, a financial holding company and all its depository institution subsidiaries must be “well capitalized” and “well managed,” and the financial holding company’s depository institution subsidiaries must have Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) ratings of at least “Satisfactory.” A depository institution subsidiary is considered “well capitalized” if it satisfies the requirements for this status discussed in the sections captioned “Regulatory Capital Requirements” and “Prompt Corrective Action,” included elsewhere under this item. A depository institution subsidiary is considered “well managed” if it received a composite rating and a management rating of at least “Satisfactory” in its most recent examination. See the section captioned “Community Reinvestment Act” included elsewhere under this item.

The Bank and its Subsidiaries

East West Bank is subject to regulation and supervision governing, among other things, regulatory capital levels, the scope of its business, investments, reserves against deposits, the timing of the availability of deposited funds, and the nature and amount of collateral for certain loans. Bank regulatory agencies also have extensive discretion to impose various restrictions on management or operations and to issue policies and guidance in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities and examination policies.

Regulatory Capital Requirements

The federal banking agencies have imposed capital adequacy requirements, known as the Basel III Capital Rules, intended to ensure that banking organizations maintain capital that is commensurate with the degree of risk associated with their operations. The Basel III Capital Rules define the components of regulatory capital, including Common Equity Tier 1 (“CET1”), Tier 1 and 2 capital, and set forth minimum capital adequacy ratios of capital to risk-weighted assets and total assets. The Basel III Capital Rules also prescribe a standardized approach for risk-weighting assets and include a number of risk-weighting categories that affect the denominator in banking institutions’ regulatory capital ratios.

Under the Basel III Capital Rules, to be considered adequately capitalized, standardized approach banking organizations, such as the Company and the Bank are required to maintain minimum capital ratios of at least 4.5% CET1 capital to risk-weighted assets, 6.0% Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets, 8.0% total risk-based capital (i.e., Tier 1 plus Tier 2 capital) to risk-weighted assets and a 4.0% Tier 1 leverage ratio of Tier 1 capital to average total consolidated assets. The Basel III Capital Rules also include a “capital conservation buffer” of 2.5% on top of each of the minimum risk-based capital ratios. Banking institutions with a risk-based capital ratio that meets or exceeds the minimum requirement but does not exceed the capital conservation buffer will face constraints on dividends, equity repurchases and discretionary bonus payments based on the amount of the shortfall. As of December 31, 2025, the Company’s and the Bank’s capital ratios exceeded the minimum capital adequacy requirements of the federal banking agencies, including the capital conservation buffer, and the Company and the Bank were classified as “well capitalized.” For additional discussion and disclosure see Item 7. MD&A — Regulatory Capital and Ratios and Note 16 — Regulatory Requirements and Matters to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

The Bank is also subject to additional capital requirements under the Prompt Corrective Action (“PCA”) regulations that implement Section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (“FDIA”), as discussed below under the Prompt Corrective Action section.

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Prompt Corrective Action

The FDIA, as amended, requires federal banking agencies to take PCA with respect to insured depository institutions (“IDIs”) that do not meet minimum capital requirements. The FDIA includes the following five capital tiers: “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized.” A depository institution’s capital tier will depend upon how its capital levels compare with various relevant capital measures and certain other factors, as established by regulations. The capital tiers in the PCA framework do not apply directly to bank holding companies (such as the Company); however, the Federal Reserve is authorized to take action at the bank holding company level based on the undercapitalized status of the bank holding company’s subsidiary banking institution. Under the federal banking agencies’ regulations implementing the PCA provisions of the FDIA, an IDI (such as the Bank) generally is classified in the following categories based on the capital measures indicated:

(1)Additionally, to be classified as “well capitalized”, an IDI may not be subject to any written agreement, order, capital directive, or PCA directive issued by its primary federal regulator to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure.

An institution may be downgraded to, or deemed to be in, a capital category that is lower than indicated by its capital ratios, if it is determined to be in an unsafe or unsound condition or if it receives an unsatisfactory examination rating with respect to certain matters. A bank’s capital category is determined solely for the purpose of applying PCA regulations and the capital category may not constitute an accurate representation of the bank’s overall financial condition or prospects for other purposes.

The FDIA generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distributions (including payment of any dividend) or paying any management fee to its parent holding company, if the depository institution would thereafter be “undercapitalized.” Undercapitalized institutions are subject to growth limitations and are required to submit capital restoration plans. If a depository institution fails to submit an acceptable plan, it is treated as if it is “significantly undercapitalized.” Significantly undercapitalized depository institutions may be subject to several requirements and restrictions, including orders to sell sufficient voting stock to become “adequately capitalized,” requirements to reduce total assets, cessation of receipt of deposits from correspondent banks and/or restrictions on interest rates paid on deposits. “Critically undercapitalized” institutions are subject to the appointment of a receiver or conservator. The FDIA also generally permits only “well capitalized” IDIs to accept brokered deposits, although an “adequately capitalized” institution may apply to the FDIC for a waiver of this restriction.

Stress Testing

Under the enhanced prudential standards adopted by the Federal Reserve, bank holding companies with $100 billion or more in total assets are subject to supervisory capital stress tests and internal liquidity stress testing requirements. Although the Company and the Bank are not required to conduct capital or liquidity stress tests, we conduct annual capital and quarterly liquidity stress tests as part of our risk management processes.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Supervision

The Dodd-Frank Act established the CFPB, which has the authority to implement, examine and enforce compliance with federal consumer financial laws that apply to banking institutions with total consolidated assets exceeding $10 billion (such as the Bank) and their affiliates. The CFPB has historically focused its supervisory, examination, and enforcement efforts on, among other things:

•risks to consumers and compliance with federal consumer financial laws when evaluating the policies and practices of a financial institution;

•unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices;

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•rulemaking to implement various federal consumer statutes such as the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Truth in Lending Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Billing Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act; and

•the markets in which firms operate and risks to consumers posed by activities in those markets.

The statutes and regulations that the CFPB enforces mandate certain disclosure and other requirements, and regulate the manner in which financial institutions must deal with consumers when taking deposits, making loans, collecting payments on loans, and providing other services. The CFPB’s rulemaking, examination and enforcement authority has affected and will continue to impact financial institutions that provide consumer financial products and services, including the Company and the Bank. These regulatory activities may limit the types of financial services and products the Company may offer. Failure to comply with federal and state laws prohibiting unfair, abusive, or fraudulent business practices, untrue or misleading advertising and unfair competition, can subject the Bank to various penalties, including, but not limited to, enforcement actions, injunctions, fines or criminal penalties, punitive damages, restitution to consumers, and the loss of certain contractual rights or business opportunities and may also result in significant reputational harm.

Federal Home Loan Bank and the Federal Reserve’s Reserve Requirements

The Bank is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) of San Francisco. As an FHLB member, the Bank is required to own a certain amount of capital stock in the FHLB. The Bank may also access both short- and long-term secured credit from the FHLB.

The Federal Reserve requires all depository institutions to maintain reserves at specified levels against their transaction accounts either in the form of vault cash or an interest-bearing account at the Federal Reserve Bank (“FRB”), or a pass-through account as defined by the Federal Reserve. Reserve requirements are currently set at zero percent. The Bank is a member bank and stockholder of the FRB of San Francisco.

Dividends and Other Transfers of Funds

The principal source of liquidity of East West is dividends received from the Bank. Federal and California law limit the Bank’s ability to pay dividends to East West. Regulatory approval is required under federal law if the total of all dividends declared by the Bank in any calendar year would exceed the sum of the Bank’s net income for that year and its retained earnings for the preceding two years. Federal law also prohibits the Bank from paying dividends that would be greater than its undivided profits unless the Bank has received prior approval from the Federal Reserve. California law imposes its own limitations on capital distributions by California-chartered banks that could require the Bank to obtain the approval of the DFPI prior to making a distribution to East West. Furthermore, under the federal PCA regime, the Federal Reserve or FDIC may prohibit a bank holding company from paying any dividends if the holding company’s bank subsidiary is classified as “significantly undercapitalized” or, in some circumstances, “undercapitalized.” It is the Federal Reserve’s policy that a bank holding company should generally pay dividends on common stock only if the company’s net income available to common stockholders over the past four quarters, net of distributions, would be sufficient to fully fund the dividends, and if the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with the company’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. It is also the Federal Reserve’s policy that a bank holding company should not maintain dividend levels that undermine the company’s ability to be a financial source of strength to its banking subsidiaries. The Federal Reserve requires bank holding companies to continuously review their dividend policy in light of their organizations’ financial condition and in compliance with regulatory capital requirements, and discourages payment ratios that are at maximum allowable levels, unless both asset quality and capital are strong.

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Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders

Pursuant to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, as implemented by the Federal Reserve’s Regulation W, banks are subject to restrictions that limit their ability to engage in transactions with their affiliates, including their parent bank holding companies. Regulation W limits the types, terms and amounts of these transactions and generally requires the transactions to be on an arm’s-length basis. In general, Regulation W requires that “covered transactions,” which include a bank’s extension of credit to or purchase of assets from an affiliate, be limited to 10% of the bank’s capital and surplus with respect to any one affiliate, and 20% of the bank’s capital and surplus with respect to the aggregate of all covered transactions with all affiliates. In addition, a bank generally may not extend credit to an affiliate unless the extension of credit is secured by specified amounts of collateral. The Dodd-Frank Act expanded the coverage and scope of the limitations on affiliate transactions by treating derivative transactions resulting in a bank’s credit exposure to an affiliate as covered transactions. In addition, the Volcker Rule under the Dodd-Frank Act establishes certain prohibitions, restrictions and requirements (known as “Super 23A” and “Super 23B”) on transactions between a covered fund and a banking entity that serves as an investment manager, investment adviser, organizer and offeror, or sponsor with respect to that covered fund, regardless of whether the banking entity has an ownership interest in the fund.

Federal law also limits a bank’s authority to extend credit to its directors, executive officers and principal stockholders, as well as to entities controlled by such persons (collectively, “insiders”). Among other things, extensions of credit to insiders are required to be made on terms that are substantially the same as, and follow credit underwriting procedures that are not less stringent than, those prevailing for comparable transactions with unaffiliated persons. The terms of such extensions of credit may not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features and may not exceed certain limitations on the amount of credit extended to such persons, individually and in the aggregate, which limits are based, in part, on the amount of the bank’s capital.

Community Reinvestment Act

Under the CRA, an IDI has a continuing and affirmative obligation to help serve the credit needs of its communities, including low- and moderate-income borrowers and neighborhoods. The Federal Reserve periodically evaluates a state member bank’s performance under applicable performance criteria and assigns a rating of “outstanding,” “satisfactory,” “needs to improve” or “substantial noncompliance.” The Federal Reserve takes this performance into account when reviewing applications by banks and their parent companies to expand branches, relocate, add subsidiaries and affiliates, expand into new financial activities and merge with or acquire other financial institutions. Unsatisfactory CRA performance may result in the denial of such applications.

On October 24, 2023, the federal banking agencies issued a final rule revising their framework for evaluating banks’ records of community investment under the CRA. On July 16, 2025, the agencies issued a proposal to rescind the October 2023 final rule and reinstate the CRA framework that existed prior to the October 2023 final rule. The Bank received a rating of “Outstanding” in its most recent performance evaluation, which was conducted as of August 12, 2024 using the CRA framework that existed prior to the October 2023 final rule.

FDIC Deposit Insurance Assessments

The FDIC insures the Bank’s customer deposits through the DIF up to $250,000 for each depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, for each account ownership category. The DIF is funded mainly through quarterly insurance assessments on insured banks based on their assessment base. The Dodd-Frank Act revised the FDIC’s fund management authority by establishing a minimum Designated Reserve Ratio of 1.35 percent of total estimated insured deposits and redefining the assessment base to be calculated as average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity. The Bank’s DIF quarterly assessment is calculated by multiplying its assessment base by the applicable assessment rate. The assessment rate is calculated based on an institution’s risk profile, including capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity and sensitivity to market risk ratings, certain financial measures to assess an institution’s ability to withstand asset related stress and funding related stress, and a measure of loss severity that estimates the relative magnitude of potential losses to the FDIC in the event of the Bank’s failure.

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A 2022 FDIC rule increased the initial base deposit insurance assessment rate schedules uniformly by two basis points (“bps”) beginning in the first quarterly assessment period of 2023, and this increase will remain in effect until the reserve ratio of the DIF meets or exceeds 2 percent. In November 2023, the FDIC approved a final rule to implement a special deposit insurance assessment for eight quarters, starting with the first quarter of 2024, to recover losses to the DIF arising from bank failures that occurred in the Spring of 2023. The Company recognized the entire initial FDIC special assessment charge (the “FDIC charge”) of approximately $70 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, and recognized additional charges of $9 million in 2024 due to changes in the FDIC’s estimate of the DIF losses. In December 2025, the FDIC updated the estimated DIF losses and projected that the amount collected through the initial eight-quarter collection period would recover the entire amount of estimated losses. Accordingly, the Company recorded $9 million of FDIC special assessment reversals in 2025.

The FDIC may terminate a depository institution’s deposit insurance upon a finding that the institution’s financial condition is unsafe or unsound, that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, or that the institution has violated any applicable rule, regulation, condition, or order imposed by the FDIC.

Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering

The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001 (“PATRIOT Act”), the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and other federal laws and regulations impose obligations on U.S. financial institutions to implement and maintain a program reasonably designed to prevent, detect and report money laundering and the financing of terrorism, verify the identity of their customers, and comply with recordkeeping and other requirements. Regulatory agencies require that the Bank have an effective governance structure for the program that includes effective oversight by our Board of Directors and management. We regularly evaluate and continue to enhance our program to comply with the BSA, the PATRIOT Act and other anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws, regulations and initiatives. Failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate BSA/AML programs, or to comply with all applicable laws or regulations, could have serious legal, compliance, operational, financial and reputational consequences for the institution.

Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulation

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) is responsible for helping to ensure that U.S. financial institutions do not engage in transactions with certain prohibited parties, as defined by various executive orders and Acts of Congress. Federal banking regulators also examine banks for compliance with regulations administered by the OFAC for economic sanctions against designated foreign countries, designated nationals, and others. OFAC publishes lists of persons and organizations suspected of aiding, harboring or engaging in terrorist acts, known as Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. Generally, if a bank identifies a transaction or account relating to a person or entity on an OFAC list, it must freeze the account, block or reject the transaction, file a suspicious activity report and/or notify the appropriate authorities. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal, compliance, operational, financial, and reputational consequences, and result in civil monetary penalties on the Company and the Bank.

Privacy and Cybersecurity

Federal statutes and regulations, including the GLBA, require banking organizations to take certain actions to protect nonpublic consumer financial information. The Bank has a privacy policy that it must disclose to consumers annually. In some cases, the Bank must obtain a consumer’s consent before sharing information with an unaffiliated third party, and the Bank must allow a consumer to opt out of the Bank’s sharing of information with its affiliates for marketing and certain other purposes. These additional conditions affect the Bank’s information exchanges with credit reporting agencies. The Bank’s privacy practices and the effectiveness of its systems to protect consumer privacy are subjects covered in the Federal Reserve’s periodic compliance examinations.

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The interagency council of the federal banking agencies, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (“FFIEC”), as well as the SEC, regularly issue guidance on cybersecurity practices and procedures that is intended to enhance cybersecurity risk management among financial institutions and their holding companies and affiliates. For example, the FFIEC has issued several policy statements and other guidance for banks in light of the growing risk posed by cybersecurity threats. The FFIEC has continued to focus on such matters as compromised customer credentials, cyber resilience and business continuity planning. Examinations by the banking agencies now include review of an institution’s information technology and its ability to thwart or mitigate cyber-attacks. The federal banking agencies require banking organizations to notify their primary federal regulator of significant computer security incidents within 36 hours of determining that such an incident has occurred. Effective December 2023, the SEC also has imposed Form 8-K disclosure obligations for a material cybersecurity incident, among other cybersecurity related disclosure obligations.

On April 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) final rule implementing Executive Order 14117 (“Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and U.S. Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern”) took effect, with certain specified compliance requirements taking effect on October 6, 2025. The final rule prohibits or restricts certain transactions involving access by “countries of concern” or “covered persons” to “government-related data” or “bulk U.S. sensitive personal data.” The list of countries of concern includes, among others, the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau. The final rule imposes certain diligence, security, audit and record-keeping requirements, and the Bank and its subsidiary, EWCN, have taken the necessary steps to comply with the rule, including by restricting access to data by subsidiaries, affiliates, and vendors.

Consumer data privacy and data protection are also the subject of state laws. For example, the Bank is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act. Among other provisions, this statute grants consumers several rights, including the right to request to access, correct, and delete their personal information (subject to certain exceptions), and the right to opt out of the sale of their personal information and sharing of personal information for certain targeted advertising purposes. However, a consumer does not have these rights with respect to information that is collected, processed, sold, or disclosed pursuant to the GLBA or the California Financial Information Privacy Act. California also adopted new rules effective January 1, 2026, with different timing requirements depending on obligations related to cyber audits, risk assessments, and automated decision-making. Despite these evolving requirements, the Bank is not in the business of selling consumer or customer data.

The Bank’s subsidiary, EWCN, operates under China’s privacy, cybersecurity, and data security regulatory framework, which includes the Personal Information Protection Law, the Cybersecurity Law as amended effective January 1, 2026, the Data Security Law, and the Network Data Security Management Regulation that was effective January 1, 2025. EWCN has taken the necessary steps to comply with these laws, including adherence to local laws and regulations related to cross-border data sharing, and maintains policies, controls, and governance procedures designed to comply with these requirements, and also conducts periodic reviews of its data handling and network security practices. As China’s regulatory framework continues to evolve, EWCN will monitor developments and update its compliance program as applicable.

Climate-Related Laws and Regulations

During 2025, the federal banking agencies reduced their emphasis on climate-related risks by acknowledging that existing safety and soundness standards already require effective risk management practices. However, certain states, such as California, have continued to highlight climate-related financial risks as part of their sustainability objectives.

In October 2023, California Senate Bill No. 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (“SB 253”) and Senate Bill No. 261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (“SB 261”) were signed into law. SB 253 requires U.S. companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion that do business in California to report their Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions annually starting in 2026; and Scope 3 GHG emissions starting in 2027. SB 261 applies to U.S. companies with annual revenues over $500 million that do business in California and requires disclosure of climate-related financial risks and mitigation measures taken to address such risks with the first report due on January 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter. On December 9, 2025, California Air Resources Board communicated an August 10, 2026 deadline for the initial Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions reports required under SB 253, while reporting under SB 261 is deferred pending the outcome of litigation challenging the legislation. The Company is a reporting entity under both SB 253 and SB 261 and has engaged a third-party firm to support compliance with these laws.

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Resolution Planning

FDIC rules require covered IDIs to develop and submit detailed plans demonstrating how they could be resolved in an orderly and timely manner in the event of receivership. IDIs with total assets of $100 billion or more are required to submit full resolution plans, and IDIs with total assets between $50 billion and $100 billion, including the Bank, are required to submit more limited informational filings. If the FDIC deemed a resolution plan or informational filing not credible and the IDI then failed to resubmit a credible plan, the IDI could become subject to an enforcement action. The Bank completed and submitted its informational filing on October 1, 2025.

2025 Legislative Developments

In June 2025, California enacted Senate Bill No. 132 (“SB 132”), requiring banks and financial institutions to adopt a single sales factor for income apportionment, effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. Prior to SB 132, financial institutions had been required to use an equally weighted three-factor apportionment formula, which considered property, payroll and sales equally in apportioning income for California tax purposes.

In July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was signed into law, introducing significant tax changes. The OBBBA extends or makes permanent various tax provisions that were originally enacted in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and were set to expire at the end of 2025. The OBBBA features modified versions of individual and business tax relief proposals, and other new tax relief measures. In addition, it includes various revenue-raising measures, including changes to certain Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax credits and various limits on business and individual tax deductions, that are intended to offset part of the cost of the legislation. The Company has been evaluating the impact of the OBBBA on its business and consolidated financial statements.

In July 2025, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, or the “GENIUS Act,” was signed into law, establishing a federal licensing and supervisory framework for payment stablecoins and their issuers. The GENIUS Act may accelerate and increase the competition that non-traditional financial institutions pose to banks’ payment services, but may also create opportunities for banks to hold stablecoin reserve assets, custody stablecoins, or issue stablecoins. Several key provisions of the GENIUS Act require federal regulatory agencies to adopt implementing regulations, and the Act will take effect the earlier of 18 months after its enactment or 120 days after the agencies issue final implementing regulations.

Future Legislation, Regulation and Supervision Activities

New statutes, regulations and policies that contain wide-ranging proposals for altering the structures, regulations and competitive relationships of financial institutions and public companies are regularly adopted. Such changes to applicable statutes, regulations, and policies may change the Company’s operating environment in substantial and unpredictable ways, increase the Company’s cost of conducting business, impede the efficiency of internal business processes, subject the Company to increased supervision activities and disclosure and reporting requirements, and restrict or expand the activities in which the Company may engage. Accordingly, such changes may have a significant influence on our operations and activities, financial condition, results of operations, growth plans or future prospects, and the overall growth and distribution of loans, investments and deposits. We cannot predict whether or in what form any statute, regulation or policy will be proposed or adopted or the extent to which our business may be affected by any new statute, regulation or policy.

Available Information

The Company’s website is www.eastwestbank.com. The Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Proxy Statements, Current Reports on Form 8-K, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, and other filings with the SEC are available free of charge at http://investor.eastwestbank.com under the heading “SEC Filings,” as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. These reports are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company’s Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance Guidelines, charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation and Management Development Committee, Executive Committee, Risk Oversight Committee (“ROC”) and Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee, and other corporate governance materials are available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website. The information contained on the Company’s website as referenced in this report is not part of this report.

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Stockholders may also request a copy free of charge of any of the above-referenced reports and corporate governance documents by writing to: Investor Relations, East West Bancorp, Inc., 135 N. Los Robles Avenue, 7th Floor, Pasadena, California 91101; by calling (626) 768-6000; or by sending an e-mail to InvestorRelations@eastwestbank.com.