Transaction Protects All Washington First International Bank
Deposits
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
East West Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:EWBC), parent company of East West Bank,
announced today that it has acquired the banking operations of Seattle,
Washington-based Washington First International Bank (WFIB) in a
transaction with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Under
the terms of the transaction, East West will receive approximately $504
million in assets, including $403 million in loans, and assume
approximately $478 million in liabilities, including $415 million in
deposits. The FDIC and East West have entered into a loss sharing
agreement covering the acquired loans.
East West Bank is the largest bank in the nation focused on serving the
Asian American community and this strategically attractive transaction
expands East West’s operations in Washington's Puget Sound area. With
today’s transaction, East West adds four branches to its Seattle area
branch presence for a combined total of 6 branches in the Puget Sound
area. East West is now the largest Asian-American bank in Washington.
“The acquisition of Washington First International Bank reflects our
commitment to the Asian-American community in the Seattle region,” said
Dominic Ng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of East West. “We look
forward to providing the customers of Washington First International
Bank with our expanded array of deposit and loan products and services
immediately, and access to our nationwide branch network after
integration is complete. This acquisition further strengthens our vision
to be recognized as the premier bridge between East and West and our
position as the largest bank in the U.S. focused on serving the
Asian-American community,” continued Ng.
All WFIB branches will reopen as branches of East West Bank under normal
business hours – on Saturday for the International District branch, and
on Monday for the branches that operate Monday through Friday.
Depositors can continue to access their money by writing checks or using
ATM or debit cards. All outstanding checks will be processed as usual,
and customers can continue using their WFIB checks. Loan customers
should continue to make their payments as they always have.
“We welcome WFIB’s customers and employees to the East West Bank
family,” said Ng. “All customers can rest assured that all of their
deposits are safe and accessible, continue to be covered under the FDIC
insurance program, and are now backed by the security and strength of
East West Bank,” Ng concluded.
About East West
East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company with over $20 billion in
assets and is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol
“EWBC”. The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, East West Bank, is one of
the largest independent commercial banks headquartered in California
with over 130 locations worldwide, including the U.S. markets of
California, New York, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington. In
Greater China, East West’s presence includes a full service branch in
Hong Kong and representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and
Taipei. Through a wholly-owned subsidiary bank, East West’s presence in
Greater China also includes full service branches in Shanghai and
Shantou and representative offices in Beijing and Guangzhou. For more
information on East West Bancorp, visit the Company's website at www.eastwestbank.com.
Source: East West Bancorp, Inc.
Contact:
East West Bancorp, Inc.
Irene Oh
Chief Financial Officer
626.768.6360
irene.oh@eastwestbank.com
or
Emily
Wang
Media Relations
626.768.6266 (office); 626.825.0890 (cell)
emily.wang@eastwestbank.com