East West Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West
Bank, one of the nation’s premier community
banks, today announced the underwriter has exercised its option to
purchase additional Non-Cumulative Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock
(the "Preferred Stock”)
for $25 million related to the public offering announced yesterday,
bringing the total gross proceeds to $200 million.
The strong demand for the Preferred Stock in the offering rendered it
oversubscribed within hours and allowed the Company to increase the
offering from its initial announced size of $150 million to $200
million. Proceeds to the Company from the offering will be reduced by
underwriting discounts and expenses.
"The positive response and strong
oversubscription to this offering reflects the substantial demand among
our existing institutional shareholders and the confidence new investors
place on East West’s core value and
growth potential,” said Dominic Ng, Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer. "We
expect that the capital infusion will position the Bank for stronger
growth as the economy strengthens and keep our capital ratios at very
healthy levels as we contend with current economic conditions,”
continued Ng.
The capital infusion will further enhance the Company’s
capital ratios, which are already substantially above the regulatory
requirements for well-capitalized banks. The Company’s
resulting estimated ratios are, 12.31% total risk-based capital, 10.50%
tier I risk-based capital, and 10.26% tier I leverage capital, compared
to regulatory requirements for well-capitalized banks of 10% total
risk-based capital, 6% tier I risk-based capital, and 5% tier I leverage
capital.
The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus)
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for this offering.
Before you invest, you should read the prospectus for this offering in
that registration statement, and other documents the issuer has filed
with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this
offering. You may get these documents for free by searching the SEC
online database (EDGAR®) at www.sec.gov.
Alternatively, you may obtain a copy of the prospectus from Lehman
Brothers Inc. by calling 1-888-603-5847.
About East West Bank
East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company, with $11.8 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 the second largest independent commercial bank
headquartered in Southern California with 72 branch locations. East West
Bank serves the community with 70 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.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that the Company believes are "forward-looking
statements”. These statements relate to the
Company’s financial condition, results of
operations, plans, objectives, future performance or business. You
should not place undue reliance on these statements, as they are subject
to risks and uncertainties. When considering these forward-looking
statements, you should keep in mind these risks and uncertainties, as
well as any cautionary statements the Company may make. Moreover, you
should treat these statements as speaking only as of the date they are
made and based only on information then actually known to the Company.
There are a number of important factors that could cause future results
to differ materially from historical performance and these
forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference
include, but are not limited to, failure to consummate the transactions
contemplated by the underwriting agreement between Lehman Brothers, Inc.
and the Company, competitive pressures on product pricing and services
and financial institutions generally; changes in the interest rate
environment may reduce interest margins; prepayment rates, loan
originations and sale volumes, charge-offs and loan loss provisions are
inherently uncertain; deterioration in the Company’s
loan portfolio could be worse than expected due to a number of factors
such as the underlying value of the collateral could prove less valuable
than otherwise assumed and assumed cash flows may be worse than
expected; general economic conditions, either nationally or in the
states in which the Company does business, may be less favorable than
expected; political developments, wars or other hostilities may disrupt
or increase volatility in securities markets or otherwise affect
economic conditions; changes and trends in the capital markets; the
nature, extent and timing of legislative or regulatory changes, reforms
or actions, or significant litigation, may adversely affect the
businesses in which the Company is engaged; effects of critical
accounting policies and judgments; changes in accounting policies or
procedures as may be required by the Financial Accounting Standards
Board or other regulatory agencies; fluctuation of the Company’s
stock price; ability to attract and retain the Company’s
key personnel; ability to receive dividends from the Company’s
subsidiaries; success and timing of other business strategies; ability
to secure confidential information through the use of computer systems
and telecommunications network; and the impact of reputational risk
created by these developments on such matters as business generation and
retention, funding and liquidity. You should refer to the Company’s
periodic and current reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission for further information on other factors which could cause
actual results to be significantly different from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements.
