Pasadena, CA - April 17, 2006 - East West Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, one of the nation's premier community banks, today reported financial results for first quarter 2006. Fully diluted earnings per share for the first quarter increased 25% to a record $0.55 per share from $0.44 in the prior year period.

Highlights for the First Quarter

Record net income of $32.1 million, up 36% from prior year

Record net interest income of $83.0 million, up 33% from prior year

Net interest margin of 4.18%

Record total assets of $9.28 billion

Record gross loans of $7.66 billion

Record total deposits of $7.02 billion

Total nonperforming assets were 0.15% of total assets

Efficiency ratio of 36.76%

Successful close of the Standard Bank acquisition


Financial Summary

First quarter net income was a record $32.1 million, up 36% from $23.5 million reported in the prior year period. Diluted earnings per share for first quarter 2006 rose to a record $0.55, up 25% from $0.44 reported in the prior year period. For the quarter, return on average equity totaled 16.72%, while return on average assets totaled 1.50%. The effective tax rate for the quarter equaled 38.10%, compared to 35.80% for the prior year period. Pretax income for the first quarter of 2006 totaled $51.8 million, a 41% or $15.1 million increase over the year ago figure. The increase in earnings in first quarter 2006 was primarily a result of higher net interest income.

"Our first quarter 2006 results indicate we are well underway to achieving our 10th year of solid growth and record net income. East West has achieved these results despite an environment that included volatile interest rates and increased market competition throughout our industry," stated Dominic Ng, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of East West. "During the first quarter, we realized strong balance sheet and earnings growth through meaningful loan and core deposit growth and the completion of the Standard Bank acquisition. This growth was supported by an improvement in our already strong credit quality, as we experienced a decline in nonperforming assets from year-end 2005."

"We were very pleased to end the first quarter with the successful close of the Standard Bank acquisition. With this acquisition, East West expanded its market in California with the addition of six new branches, $728 million in deposits and thousands of new customers," continued Ng.

On March 17, 2006, East West completed the acquisition of Standard Bank, an $895 million asset federal savings bank headquartered in Monterey Park, California, operating through six branches throughout the Los Angeles marketplace. The final consideration paid for the acquisition of Standard Bank was $200.3 million, consisting of approximately 3.6 million shares of newly issued common stock and $66.4 million in cash. East West issued $30.0 million in junior subordinated debt securities to partially fund the acquisition.

Management Guidance

Based on the results of the first quarter and management's expectations for the rest of the year, the Company has maintained its previously stated guidance of earnings per share for 2006. Including the estimated accretion from the acquisition of Standard Bank, management expects earnings per share to be $2.25 to $2.29 for the full year of 2006. This is an increase of $0.28 to $0.32 cents per share from 2005.

The EPS guidance is based on the following assumptions:

. Annualized loan growth of 15% to 17% for the remainder of 2006
. Annualized deposit growth of 14% to 16% for the remainder of 2006
. An efficiency ratio between 37% and 38%
. An effective tax rate between 38% and 39%
. A stable or marginally increasing interest rate environment and a net interest margin between 4.10% and 4.15%
. Implementation FASB 123R, resulting in a quarterly stock option expense of approximately $300 thousand after tax

Ng also provided updated guidance on the Bank's outlook for the full-year 2006, ¡§We believe that we are positioned for good growth and earnings for the year. Credit quality remains at high levels and we anticipate continued expansion in loans and deposits, despite increasing competition on both fronts. We believe these factors will help to mitigate uncertainty over short-term and long-term rates and any resulting compression in interest rate margins. These expectations have led us to maintain our prior EPS guidance, resulting in a full-year 2006 earnings per share growth of 14% to 16% over 2005."

Balance Sheet Summary

At March 31, 2006, total assets were $9.28 billion compared to $8.28 billion at December 31, 2005. Gross loans at March 31, 2006 totaled $7.66 billion compared to $6.79 billion at year-end 2005. Excluding the impact of the Standard Bank acquisition, organic growth for the quarter was a solid $367.9 million, or 22% annualized. Growth in construction, single family real estate and commercial business loans added the largest dollar impact to our organic growth during the quarter.

Average earning assets for the first quarter of 2006 equaled $8.07 billion, 37% higher than the first quarter of 2005. The growth in average earning assets was driven by a 35% or $1.84 billion increase in average loans to $7.08 billion. The yield on average earning assets for the quarter was 6.90%, an increase of 105 basis points from the year ago quarter and an increase of 36 basis points from the previous quarter. The yield on average loans receivable for the quarter was 7.21%, an increase of 110 basis points from the year ago quarter and an increase of 37 basis points from the previous quarter. The rise in the yield on average earning assets was attributable to increases in market interest rates and the corresponding repricing of our loan portfolio.

Total deposits at March 31, 2006 were $7.02 billion compared to $6.26 billion at December 31, 2005. Excluding the impact of the Standard Bank acquisition, organic deposit growth for the quarter was $36.6 million, or 2% annualized. Core deposits at March 31, 2006 totaled $3.44 billion compared to $3.11 billion at year-end 2005. Excluding the impact of the Standard Bank acquisition, organic core deposit growth for the quarter was $133.6 million, or 17% annualized.

Average total deposits for the first quarter grew to $6.21 billion, 35% above the figure for the prior year period, while average core deposits totaled $2.98 billion, 28% greater than a year ago. The growth in average deposits is a result of substantial increases in average time deposits of 41% or $940.8 million, money market deposits of 66% or $409.3 million and noninterest bearing demand deposits 13% or $133.4 million.

The average cost of deposits for the first quarter of 2006 was 2.54%, a 111 basis point increase from the year ago quarter and a 40 basis point increase from the previous quarter. The average cost of funds for the first quarter equaled 2.86%, a 122 basis point increase from the prior year and a 41 basis point increase from the prior quarter. The rise in the cost of deposits for both the year-to-date and quarter-to-date periods was attributable to increases in market interest rates and ongoing competition for deposits.

First Quarter Operating Results

Net interest income for the first quarter increased to a record $83.0 million, 33% or $20.8 million greater than the first quarter of 2005 and 2% or $1.7 million greater on a sequential quarter basis. The interest margin for the quarter of 4.18% reflected a decrease of 11 basis points from the year ago margin and a decrease of 2 basis points from the previous quarter margin. The decrease in margin for both the sequential quarter and the previous year was primarily driven by continued competition in loan and deposit pricing. To a lesser extent, the net interest margin also decreased due to the impact of the assets acquired from Standard Bank. We expect net interest margin to be between 4.10% and 4.15% for the remainder of the year as banks continue to compete aggressively for loans and deposits.

East West recorded $3.3 million in loan loss provisions during the first quarter of 2006, compared to $4.4 million during the first quarter of 2005 and $2.5 million during the previous quarter. Based on the projected growth of the loan portfolio during the remainder of 2006, management anticipates that the provision for loan losses should be comparable to the first quarter for the remainder of the year.

Noninterest income for the first quarter totaled $8.9 million, 37% or $2.4 million higher than the first quarter of 2005 and 21% or $1.5 million higher than the sequential quarter. The year-over-year increase in noninterest income is due to an increase in gain on investment securities available-for-sale of 283% or $1.3 million, compared to prior year. Core noninterest income, excluding the impact of gain on sales of investment securities and fixed assets, totaled $7.1 million during the quarter, 18% or $1.1 million higher than the prior year figure and 9% or $568 thousand higher than the sequential quarter. The increase in core noninterest income year-over-year was largely a result of higher branch fees due to the increased number of customer accounts. This increase in branch fees was partially offset by a decrease in letters of credit fees and commissions due to lower credit enhancement fees.

Noninterest expense totaled $36.8 million for the first quarter of 2006, 33% or $9.1 million higher than a year ago and 1% or $285 thousand lower than the previous quarter. This increase from prior year was largely due to increased staffing levels and an overall increase in operating costs due to the acquisition of United National Bank in the third quarter of 2005. Occupancy expense has also increased due to the recent relocation and expansion of our corporate offices. Other operating expenses increased $3.2 million or 38% during the quarter compared to the same period in prior year. This increase in other operating expenses was primarily a result of our overall expansion. Additionally, other operating expenses increased due to our increased advertising and marketing efforts and higher deposit-related costs resulting from growth in commercial deposits. Based on the expected growth of the Bank, management estimates that noninterest expenses should increase by 25% to 28% for the year, compared to 2005.

East West generated a 36.76% efficiency ratio for the first quarter of 2006, compared to 37.01% a year ago. Management believes that an efficiency ratio between 37% and 38% remains achievable for the full-year 2006.

Asset Quality

Overall, asset quality improved in the first quarter of 2006. We experienced a significant reduction in loan delinquencies and losses. Total nonperforming assets dropped to $13.8 million or a low 0.15% of total assets at March 31, 2006, compared to $30.1 million, or 0.36% of total assets at December 31, 2005. The decrease in nonperforming assets primarily resulted from loans either that paid off or were brought current. During the quarter, we foreclosed on one commercial real estate property valued at $2.8 million. Nonaccrual loans at March 31, 2006 were $11.0 million or 0.14% of total loans, compared to $24.1 million or 0.36% of total loans, at December 31, 2005. As of March 31, 2006, we had no loans past due but not on nonaccrual status, compared to $5.7 million as of December 31, 2005. These loans either that paid off or were brought current during the quarter.

Net loan recoveries for the quarter totaled $46 thousand or 0.00% of average loans. This compares to net chargeoffs of $765 thousand or an annualized 0.06% of average loans for the first quarter of 2005 and net chargeoffs $375 thousand or an annualized 0.02% of average loans for the previous quarter. Management believes that asset quality continues to be strong and that nonperforming assets should continue to be below 0.50% of total assets and that net chargeoffs should remain below an annualized 0.35% for the full year 2006.

The allowance for loan losses at March 31, 2006 was $75.5 million or 0.99% of total loans and 687% of nonaccrual loans, compared to $68.6 million or 1.01% of total loans and 284% of nonaccrual loans at December 31, 2005. $4.1 million was added to the allowance for loan losses during the quarter due to the allowance acquired from Standard Bank. At March 31, 2006, the allowance for unfunded loan commitments and off-balance sheet credit exposures amounted to $11.7 million, compared to $11.1 million at December 31, 2005.

Capitalization

East West continues to remain well capitalized under all regulatory guidelines. At March 31, 2006, our Tier I risk-based capital ratio was 9.26%, total risk-based capital ratio was 11.27% and Tier I leverage ratio was 8.96%. During the quarter, we issued $30.0 million in junior subordinated debt securities through a pooled trust preferred offering, which qualifies for Tier I capital. Total stockholders¡¦ equity as of March 31, 2006 was $903.5 million, representing a book value of $14.91 per share.


About East West

East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company, with $9.3 billion in assets, whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "EWBC". The company's wholly owned subsidiary, East West Bank, is the second largest independent commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles with 62 branch locations. East West Bank serves the community with 61 branch locations across Southern and Northern California, one branch location in Houston, Texas and a Beijing Representative Office in China. For more information on East West Bancorp, visit the company's website at www.eastwestbank.com.


Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and accordingly, the cautionary statements contained in East West Bancorp¡¦s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005 (See Item I -- Business, and Item 7 -- Management's Discussion and Analysis of Consolidated Financial Condition and Results of Operations), and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated herein by reference. These factors include, but are not limited to: the effect of interest rate and currency exchange fluctuations; competition in the financial services market for both deposits and loans; EWBC's ability to efficiently incorporate acquisitions into its operations; the ability of EWBC and its subsidiaries to increase its customer base; the effect of regulatory and legislative action, including California tax legislation and an announcement by the state's Franchise Tax Board regarding the taxation of Registered Investment Companies; and regional and general economic conditions. Actual results and performance in future periods may be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. East West expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in the Bank's expectations of results or any change in event.