SAN MARINO, Calif., June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- East West Bancorp,
Inc. (Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, one of the nation's
premier community banks and a leading institution focused on the Chinese-
American and other niche markets, today announced that it has entered into a
definitive agreement for the acquisition of Trust Bancorp, parent company of
Trust Bank, a $235 million asset bank headquartered in Monterey Park,
California.
East West will expand its already strong franchise in the ethnic Chinese-
American retail and commercial sector through the acquisition of Trust Bank,
and will extend its market coverage in the niche through the addition of four
attractive locations in Southern California. Trust Bank, founded in 1981,
provides responsive community banking services to a range of ethnic retail and
commercial customers through four branches located in Monterey Park, Rowland
Heights, West Covina and Arcadia. As of March 31, 2004, Trust Bank had total
assets of $235 million, total loans of $155 million and total deposits of
$193 million, comprised of $140 million of time deposits and $53 million of
core deposits. East West intends to retain all of the Trust branches and
branch personnel.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, shareholders of Trust Bank
will receive a value of approximately $32.9 million, or 1.82 times March 31
book value, to be paid in East West stock. The transaction has been approved
by the Boards of Directors of both banks, and is anticipated to close in the
middle of the third quarter. East West estimates that the acquisition will be
accretive to 2004 earnings per share by $0.02.
Dominic Ng, President and CEO of East West, commented, "We view the
acquisition of Trust Bank as another opportunity to enhance East West's
leadership in the ethnic Chinese banking market while bringing expanded
service and capabilities to the client base of Trust. We have consistently
pursued and executed an acquisition strategy designed to create added value at
both the acquired institution as well as for East West shareholders, and we
believe that we can achieve the same result with the addition of Trust. The
management and Board of Directors of Trust Bank have built a solid deposit
franchise focused on the Chinese-American market in the San Gabriel Valley and
we believe that as part of East West operations, we can provide a platform on
which to expand current and potential relationships through our extensive menu
of products and services. At the same time, the transaction provides us an
opportunity to realize earnings enhancements at Trust Bank through back-office
and administrative cost reductions. We look forward to integrating the Trust
operations and customer base in a timely manner and continuing the growth of
the combined institutions."
About East West
East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company, with $4.6 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 fourth
largest independent commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. East West
Bank serves the community with 40 locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange,
San Francisco, Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties and a Beijing
Representative Office in China. It is also one of the largest financial
institutions in the nation focusing on the Chinese-American community. 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, 2003 (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 recently enacted 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
events.
For further information, please contact: Julia Gouw, Chief Financial
Officer, +1-626-583-3512, or Steven Canup, Investor Relations,
+1-626-583-3775, both of East West Bancorp, Inc.
SOURCE East West Bancorp, Inc.
-0- 06/03/2004
/CONTACT: Julia Gouw, Chief Financial Officer, +1-626-583-3512, or Steven
Canup, Investor Relations, +1-626-583-3775, both of East West Bancorp, Inc./
/Web site: http://www.eastwestbank.com /
(EWBC)
CO: East West Bancorp, Inc.; East West Bank; Trust Bancorp; Trust Bank
ST: California
IN: FIN
SU: TNM ASI
CM
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5658 06/03/200407:01 EDThttp://www.prnewswire.com