East West Bank Announces Agreement to Sell Desert Community Bank Branches to Flagstar Bank, FSB
November 13 2017 - 4:00PM
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.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171113006307/en/
East West Bancorp, Inc.FOR INVESTOR INQUIRIES,
CONTACT:Irene OhChief Financial OfficerO: (626) 768-6360E:
irene.oh@eastwestbank.comorJulianna BalickaDirector of Strategy and
Corporate DevelopmentO: (626) 768-6985E:
julianna.balicka@eastwestbank.comorFOR MEDIA INQUIRIES,
CONTACT:Emily WangDirector of MarketingO: (626) 768-6266E:
emily.wang@eastwestbank.com
East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024