PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--East West Bancorp, Inc. (“East West” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, the financial bridge between the United States and Greater China, today announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of East West’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Repurchase Program”). This $500 million repurchase authorization is inclusive of the Company’s $100 million stock repurchase authorization currently outstanding.
The Repurchase Program is intended to comply with Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Rule 10b-18”). Purchases under the Repurchase Program will be made in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, or by other means in compliance with Rule 10b-18. However, the Company has no obligation to repurchase shares and the timing, actual number, and value of shares to be repurchased is subject to management’s discretion and will depend on the Company’s stock price and other market conditions. The Company may, in the sole discretion of the Board, terminate the Repurchase Program at any time while it is in effect.
About East West
East West Bancorp, Inc. is a publicly owned company with total assets of $44.2 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 125 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, 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 our 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,” “assumes,” 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, and the negative thereof. 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, the changes and effects thereof in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including the ongoing trade dispute between the United States (“U.S.”) and the People’s Republic of China; our ability to compete effectively against other financial institutions in our banking markets; success and timing of our business strategies; our ability to retain key officers and employees; impact on our funding costs, net interest income and net interest margin due to changes in key variable market interest rates, competition, regulatory requirements and our product mix; changes in our costs of operation, compliance and expansion; our ability to adopt and successfully integrate new technologies into our business in a strategic manner; impact of benchmark interest rate reform in the U.S. that resulted in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate selected as the preferred alternative reference rate to the London Interbank Offered Rate; 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; future credit quality and performance, including our expectations regarding future credit losses and allowance levels; impact of adverse changes to our credit ratings from major credit rating agencies; impact of adverse judgments or settlements in litigation; changes in the commercial and consumer real estate markets; changes in consumer spending and savings habits; changes in the U.S. economy, including inflation, deflation, employment levels, rate of growth and general business conditions; government intervention in the financial system, including changes in government interest rate policies; impact on our international operations due to political developments, disease pandemics, wars or other hostilities that may disrupt or increase volatility in securities or otherwise affect economic conditions; 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 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the California Department of Business Oversight — Division of Financial Institutions; impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on our business, business practices, cost of operations and executive compensation; heightened regulatory and governmental oversight and scrutiny of our business practices, including dealings with consumers; impact of reputational risk from negative publicity, fines and penalties and other negative consequences from regulatory violations and legal actions and from our interactions with business partners, counterparties, service providers and other third parties; impact of regulatory enforcement actions; 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 income tax laws and regulations; impact of other potential federal tax changes and spending cuts; our capital requirements and our ability to generate capital internally or raise capital on favorable terms; impact on our liquidity due to changes in our ability to receive dividends from our subsidiaries; any future strategic acquisitions or divestitures; continuing consolidation in the financial services industry; changes in the equity and debt securities markets; fluctuations in our stock price; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; 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 increases in funding costs, a reduction in 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; impact of natural or man-made disasters or calamities, such as wildfires or conflicts or other events that may directly or indirectly result in a negative impact on our financial performance; and other factors set forth in our public reports including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, 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, our results could differ materially from those expressed in, implied or projected by such forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update or revise such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
