PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
East West Bancorp, Inc. (“East West” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: EWBC),
parent company of East West Bank, today announced that East West Bank
has entered into a purchase and assumption agreement to sell its Desert
Community Bank (“DCB”) branches and related assets and liabilities to
Flagstar Bank, a subsidiary bank of Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (“Flagstar”)
(NYSE: FBC).
Desert Community Bank consists of eight branches located in the High
Desert area of California, and has been operating as a separate division
of East West Bank for ten years. The purchase and assumption agreement
includes all eight branches, approximately $70 million in loans and $600
million in deposits. Following the sale, DCB will retain its name and
continue to operate as Desert Community Bank, a division of Flagstar
Bank.
Dominic Ng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of East West, stated,
“East West is proud to have served the communities in the High Desert
area for a decade. Although we are exiting branch banking in this region
of California, it was important for us to find a buyer that was
committed to retaining the Desert Community Bank name and banking team,
and shared our values in providing an outstanding customer experience.
With our choice of Flagstar, we believe we found a dedicated partner to
support Desert Community Bank’s integral role in the High Desert
communities. I am confident that our customers will be well-served by
the team at Flagstar.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and satisfaction of
customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed in the
first half of 2018. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. acted as financial advisor and King,
Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP served as legal counsel to East West
Bancorp, Inc.
About East West
East West Bancorp, Inc. is a publicly owned company with total assets of
$36.3 billion 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 banks headquartered in California. East
West is a premier bank focused exclusively on the United States and
Greater China markets and operates over 130 locations worldwide,
including in the United States markets of California, Georgia,
Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas and Washington. In Greater China,
East West’s presence includes full service branches in Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Shantou and Shenzhen, and representative offices in Beijing,
Chongqing, Guangzhou, Taipei and Xiamen. For more information on East
West, visit the Company’s website at www.eastwestbank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain matters set forth herein (including any exhibits hereto)
constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including
forward-looking statements relating to the Company’s current business
plans and expectations regarding future operating results.
Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, the use
of forward-looking language, such as “likely result in,” “expects,”
“anticipates,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “intends to,” or
may include other similar words or phrases, such as “believes,” “plans,”
“trend,” “objective,” “continues,” “remains,” or similar expressions, or
future or conditional verbs, such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,”
“may,” “might,” “can,” or similar verbs. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those projected. These risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond
our control, include, but are not limited to, our ability to compete
effectively against other financial institutions in our banking markets;
changes in the commercial and consumer real estate markets; changes in
our costs of operation, compliance and expansion; changes in the U.S.
economy, including inflation, employment levels, rate of growth and
general business conditions; changes in government interest rate
policies; changes in laws or the regulatory environment including
regulatory reform initiatives and policies of the U.S. Department of
Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board System,
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and
California Department of Business Oversight — Division of Financial
Institutions; heightened regulatory and governmental oversight and
scrutiny of the Company’s business practices, including dealings with
consumers; changes in the economy of and monetary policy in the People’s
Republic of China; changes in income tax laws and regulations; changes
in accounting standards as may be required by the Financial Accounting
Standards Board or other regulatory agencies and their impact on
critical accounting policies and assumptions; changes in the equity and
debt securities markets; future credit quality and performance,
including our expectations regarding future credit losses and allowance
levels; fluctuations of our stock price; fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; success and timing of our business strategies;
our ability to adopt and successfully integrate new technologies into
our business in a strategic manner; impact of reputational risk from
negative publicity, fines and penalties and other negative consequences
from regulatory violations and legal actions; impact of potential
federal tax changes and spending cuts; impact of adverse judgments or
settlements in litigation or of regulatory enforcement actions; changes
in our ability to receive dividends from our subsidiaries; impact of
political developments, wars or other hostilities that may disrupt or
increase volatility in securities or otherwise affect economic
conditions; impact of natural or man-made disasters or calamities or
conflicts or other events that may directly or indirectly result in a
negative impact on the Company’s financial performance; continuing
consolidation in the financial services industry; our capital
requirements and our ability to generate capital internally or raise
capital on favorable terms; impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act on our business, business practices and cost
of operations; impact of adverse changes to our credit ratings from the
major credit rating agencies; impact of failure in, or breach of, our
operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third
parties with whom we do business, including as a result of cyber
attacks; and other similar matters which could result in, among other
things, confidential and/or proprietary information being disclosed or
misused; adequacy of our risk management framework, disclosure controls
and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; the effect
of the current low interest rate environment or changes in interest
rates on our net interest income and net interest margin; the effect of
changes in the level of checking or savings account deposits on our
funding costs and net interest margin; a recurrence of significant
turbulence or disruption in the capital or financial markets, which
could result in, among other things, a reduction in the availability of
funding or increased funding costs, reduced investor demand for mortgage
loans and declines in asset values and/ or recognition of
other-than-temporary impairment on securities held in our
available-for-sale investment securities portfolio; and other factors
set forth in the Company’s public reports including its Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and particularly the
discussion of risk factors within that document. If any of these risks
or uncertainties materializes or if any of the assumptions underlying
such forward-looking statements proves to be incorrect, the Company’s
results could differ materially from those expressed in, implied or
projected by such forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no
obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
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East West Bancorp, Inc.
FOR INVESTOR INQUIRIES, CONTACT:
Irene
Oh
Chief Financial Officer
O: (626) 768-6360
E: irene.oh@eastwestbank.com
or
Julianna
Balicka
Director of Strategy and Corporate Development
O:
(626) 768-6985
E: julianna.balicka@eastwestbank.com
or
FOR
MEDIA INQUIRIES, CONTACT:
Emily Wang
Director of Marketing
O:
(626) 768-6266
E: emily.wang@eastwestbank.com
Source: East West Bancorp, Inc.