East West Bancorp Announces Date for Fourth Quarter 2008 Earnings Conference Call/Webcast

East West Bancorp (Nasdaq:EWBC) will announce fourth quarter 2008 earnings to the public on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 8:30 A.M. PT/11:30 A.M. ET via the Company’s live quarterly earnings conference call. The public and investment community are invited to listen as management discusses fourth quarter results and operating developments.

Those wishing to hear the conference call may log on to http://www.streetevents.com. The following dial-in information is provided for participation in the conference call: Local call (within the US and Canada) - (888) 713-4211; International call - (617) 213-4864 with reference to passcode of #39426156. Additional information for the conference call and replay is provided on the Investor Relations page at www.eastwestbank.com.

Financial results will be released over the news wires after the market closes on Tuesday, January 27, 2009.

About East West

East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company, with $11.7 billion in assets, whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "EWBC.” The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, East West Bank, is FDIC insured and the second largest independent commercial bank headquartered in Southern California with 71 branch locations. East West Bank serves the community with 69 branch locations across Southern and Northern California and a branch location in Houston, Texas. East West Bank has three international locations in Greater China, including a full-service branch in Hong Kong and representative offices in Beijing and Shanghai. For more information on East West Bancorp, visit the company’s website at www.eastwestbank.com.