East West Bancorp, Inc. (“East West” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2023. First quarter 2023 net income was $322.4 million, or $2.27 per diluted share, up from $237.7 million, or $1.66 per diluted share in the prior year period. Year-over-year, earnings per share increased 37%. Total loans reached a record $48.9 billion as of March 31, 2023.

“East West’s ability to consistently generate industry-leading profitability while maintaining above peer capital ratios are strengths in any business cycle. East West continued to deliver in the first quarter, despite the banking industry and market disruption that occurred in mid-March,” stated Dominic Ng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of East West. “For the first quarter of 2023, we earned industry-leading returns of 2.0% on average assets and 22.9% on average tangible common equity¹. Net interest margin was a healthy 3.96%, asset quality continued to be excellent with net charge-offs of 0.01% annualized. With our strong earnings, all capital ratios expanded, and our total capital ratio increased to 14.5%.”

“Our balance sheet positions us to excel. Our loan portfolio is granular and well-diversified without significant concentration in any industry or sector. We have a strong, granular deposit franchise with over 550,000 deposit accounts spanning consumer, small business, non-profit and corporate customers. Our capital and liquidity are strong. We are steadfast in our positive outlook for East West’s performance,” concluded Ng.

BALANCE SHEET

• Total Assets – Total assets reached a record $67.2 billion as of March 31, 2023, an increase of $3.1 billion, or 5%, from $64.1 billion as of December 31, 2022.
  
  
  
  First quarter 2023 average interest-earning assets of $61.5 billion were up $1.1 billion, or 2%, from $60.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. Quarter-over-quarter, average loans grew $542.7 million and average interest-bearing cash and deposits with banks increased $465.9 million.
  
  

• Strong Capital Levels – As of March 31, 2023, stockholders’ equity was $6.3 billion, or $44.62 per share, up 5% quarter-over-quarter. The stockholders’ equity to assets ratio was 9.38% as of March 31, 2023, an increase of five basis points quarter-over-quarter.
  
  
  
  As of March 31, 2023, tangible book value³ per share was $41.28, up 6% quarter-over-quarter. The tangible common equity ratio³ was 8.74%, an increase of eight basis points quarter-over-quarter.
  
  
  
  All of East West’s regulatory capital ratios are well in excess of regulatory requirements for well-capitalized institutions, as well as above regional and national bank averages. The common equity tier 1 (“CET1”) capital ratio increased to 13.06%, and the total risk-based capital ratio increased to 14.50%, as of March 31, 2023.
  
  

• Total Loans – Total loans reached a record $48.9 billion as of March 31, 2023, an increase of $696.8 million, or 1%, from $48.2 billion as of December 31, 2022. Year-over-year, total loans grew $5.4 billion, or 12%, from $43.5 billion as of March 31, 2022.
  
  
  
  First quarter 2023 average loans of $48.1 billion grew $542.7 million, or 1%, from the fourth quarter of 2022. Average growth in residential mortgage and commercial real estate loans was partially offset by a modest decrease in average commercial & industrial loans.
  
  

• Total Deposits – Total deposits were $54.7 billion as of March 31, 2023, a decrease of $1.2 billion, or 2%, from $56.0 billion as of December 31, 2022. Year-over-year, deposits declined $201.0 million, or 0.4%, from $54.9 billion as of March 31, 2022. Noninterest-bearing deposits made up 33% of our total deposits as of March 31, 2023.
  
  
  
  First quarter 2023 average deposits of $55.0 billion were essentially unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2022. During the first quarter, time deposits grew due to a successful branch-based CD campaign for the Lunar New Year. This was offset by declines in other deposit categories, which reflected customers seeking higher yields in a rising interest rate environment and the banking industry disruption in mid-March.
  
  
  
  As of March 31, 2023, East West Bank’s domestic deposits were $52.5 billion, of which insured or otherwise collateralized deposits were estimated at $29.6 billion. East West Bank’s domestic uninsured deposit ratio improved to 44% as of March 31, 2023, compared to 50% as of December 31, 2022. Since the industry disruption in mid-March, the Company has worked with customers to expand their FDIC insurance coverage, primarily through the utilization of fully insured sweep programs. East West’s borrowing capacity, cash and cash equivalents well exceed our uninsured deposit balances.
  
  

• Conservative Liquidity Management – Cash and cash equivalents increased 70% to $5.9 billion as of March 31, 2023, up from $3.5 billion as of December 31, 2022. This increase in on-balance sheet liquidity was in response to the recent volatility in the banking industry and reflects East West’s conservative liquidity management practices. The increase in cash and cash equivalents was primarily funded with borrowings from the Bank Term Funding Program (“BTFP”) totaling $4.5 billion at a rate of 4.37% as of March 31, 2023.
  
  
  
  As of March 31, 2023, East West Bank’s borrowing capacity, plus cash and cash equivalents was $30.6 billion, equivalent to 134% of total uninsured and uncollateralized deposits of $22.8 billion. As of December 31, 2022, borrowing capacity, plus cash and cash equivalents was $26.4 billion, equivalent to 99% of total uninsured and uncollateralized deposits.

OPERATING RESULTS

First Quarter Earnings – First quarter 2023 net income was $322.4 million, a decrease of 4% from $336.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, and an increase of 36% from $237.7 million for the first quarter of 2022. First quarter 2023 diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) were $2.27, a decrease of 4% from $2.37 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2022, and an increase of 37% from $1.66 per diluted share for the year-ago quarter.

First quarter 2023 adjusted net income⁴ was $329.5 million, and adjusted diluted EPS⁴ was $2.32, a decrease of 2% quarter-over-quarter for both metrics. Noninterest income in the first quarter of 2023 included a $10.0 million (before tax) impairment loss on a subordinated debt security of a failed bank, which was $7.1 million after tax, or $0.05 per share.

First Quarter 2023 Compared to Fourth Quarter 2022

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income (“NII”) totaled $599.9 million, a decrease of 1% from $605.5 million. Net interest margin (“NIM”) of 3.96% declined two basis points from 3.98%.

• The change in NII reflects day count in the first quarter (90 days) compared with the fourth quarter (92 days). Equalizing for day count, the 2% of quarter-over-quarter average earning asset growth more than offsets the two basis points of NIM contraction.
• The change in NIM was primarily driven by a higher cost of interest-bearing deposits and changes in the deposit mix in favor of higher-cost deposits, partially offset by expanding earning asset yields.
• The average loan yield was 6.14%, up 55 basis points from the fourth quarter. The average interest-earning asset yield was 5.51%, up 51 basis points from the fourth quarter.
• The average cost of funds was 1.69%, up 58 basis points from the fourth quarter. The average cost of deposits was 1.60%, up 54 basis points.
• The changes in yields and rates reflected rising benchmark interest rates.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income totaled $60.0 million in the first quarter, a decrease of $4.9 million, or 8%, from $64.9 million in the fourth quarter.

• Fee income and net gains on sales of loans were $66.3 million, up slightly from $66.0 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting higher lending and wealth management fees. The quarterly change in foreign exchange (“FX”) income reflected higher customer-driven FX fee income that was more than offset by an unfavorable change in mark-to-market adjustments on FX positions.
• Interest rate contracts and other derivative income was $2.6 million in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $0.6 million in the fourth quarter. The change reflected both growth in customer-driven revenue and a favorable change in mark-to-market adjustments.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense totaled $218.4 million in the first quarter, compared with $257.1 million in the fourth quarter. First quarter noninterest expense consisted of $204.0 million of adjusted noninterest expense⁵, $10.1 million in amortization of tax credit and other investments, $0.4 million in amortization of core deposit intangibles, and $3.9 million in repurchase agreements’ extinguishment cost.

• Adjusted noninterest expense of $204.0 million increased $11.9 million, or 6%, from $192.1 million in the fourth quarter. The linked quarter change primarily reflected seasonal first quarter increase in compensation and employee benefits expense, and higher deposit insurance premiums and regulatory assessments.
• In the first quarter of 2023, the Company prepaid $300 million of repurchase agreement funding, which had carried a rate of 6.74%.
• Amortization of tax credit and other investments totaled $10.0 million in the first quarter, compared with $64.6 million in the fourth quarter. Quarter-over-quarter variability in the amortization of tax credits and other investments primarily reflects the impact of investments that close in a given period.
• The efficiency ratio was 33.1% in the first quarter, compared with 38.3% in the fourth quarter and the adjusted efficiency ratio⁴ was 30.5% in the first quarter, compared with 28.7% in the fourth quarter.

TAX RELATED ITEMS

First quarter 2023 income tax expense was $99.0 million, and the effective tax rate was 23.5%. The effective tax rate for the full year 2022 was 20.1%.

ASSET QUALITY

The asset quality of our loan portfolio continues to be excellent. First quarter 2023 provision for credit losses was $20.0 million, compared with $25.0 million in fourth quarter 2022.

• The allowance for loan losses increased to $619.9 million, or 1.27% of loans held-for-investment (“HFI”), as of March 31, 2023, compared with $595.6 million, or 1.24% of loans HFI, as of December 31, 2022.
• First quarter 2023 net charge-offs were $0.6 million or annualized 0.01% of average loans HFI, down from net charge-offs of $10.1 million, or annualized 0.08% of average loans HFI, for the fourth quarter of 2022.
• The nonperforming assets ratio improved to 0.14% of total assets as of March 31, 2023, down from 0.16% as of December 31, 2022. Nonperforming assets decreased $6.4 million, or 6%, quarter-over-quarter to $93.4 million as of March 31, 2023, down from $99.8 million as of December 31, 2022.
• The criticized loans ratio increased one basis point quarter-over-quarter to 1.87% of loans HFI as of March 31, 2023, compared with 1.86% as of December 31, 2022. Criticized loans increased $18.1 million, or 2%, quarter-over-quarter to $914.1 million as of March 31, 2023, compared with $896.0 million as of December 31, 2022.

CAPITAL STRENGTH

Capital levels for East West are strong and all capital ratios expanded quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. The following table presents the regulatory capital metrics as of March 31, 2023, December 31, 2022 and March 31, 2022.

DIVIDEND PAYOUT AND CAPITAL ACTIONS

East West’s Board of Directors has declared second quarter 2023 dividends for the Company’s common stock. The common stock cash dividend of $0.48 per share is payable on May 15, 2023, to stockholders of record on May 1, 2023.

On March 3, 2020, East West’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of East West’s common stock, of which $254 million remains available. East West did not repurchase any shares during the first quarter of 2023.

Conference Call

East West will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2023 earnings with the public on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.m. ET. The public and investment community are invited to listen as management discusses first quarter 2023 results and operating developments.

• The following dial-in information is provided for participation in the conference call: calls within the U.S. – (877) 506-6399; calls within Canada – (855) 669-9657; international calls – (412) 902-6699.
• A presentation to accompany the earnings call will be available on the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website at www.eastwestbank.com/investors.
• A listen-only live broadcast of the call will also be available on the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website at www.eastwestbank.com/investors.
• A replay of the conference call will be available on April 20, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET through May 20, 2023. The replay numbers are: within the U.S. – (877) 344-7529; within Canada – (855) 669-9658; international calls – (412) 317-0088; and the replay access code is: 6046956.

About East West

East West provides financial services that help customers reach further and connect to new opportunities. East West Bancorp, Inc. is a public company (Nasdaq: “EWBC”) with total assets of $67.2 billion. The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, East West Bank, is the largest independent bank headquartered in Southern California, and operates over 120 locations in the United States and Asia. The Bank’s markets in the United States include California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Washington. For more information on East West, visit www.eastwestbank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters set forth herein (including any exhibits hereto) contain forward-looking statements that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for such statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, the Company may make forward-looking statements in other documents that it files with, or furnishes to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and management may make forward-looking statements to analysts, investors, media members and others. Forward-looking statements are those that do not relate to historical facts and that are based on current assumptions, beliefs, estimates, expectations and projections, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond the Company’s control. Forward-looking statements may relate to various matters, including the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance, business or industry, and usually can be identified by the use of forward-looking words, such as “anticipates,” “assumes,” “believes,” “can,” “continues,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intends,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “objective,” “plans,” “potential,” “projects,” “remains,” “should,” “target,” “trend,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions or variations thereof, and the negative thereof, but these terms are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those described below. 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.

There are various important factors that could cause future results to differ materially from historical performance and any forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences, include, but are not limited to: changes in the global economy, including an economic slowdown, capital or financial market disruption, supply chain disruption, level of inflation, interest rate environment, housing prices, employment levels, rate of growth and general business conditions, which could result in, among other things, reduced demand for loans, reduced availability of funding or increases in funding costs, declines in asset values and /or recognition of allowance for credit losses; changes in local, regional and global business, economic and political conditions and geopolitical events, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; the impacts related to or resulting from recent bank failures and other economic and industry volatility, including potential increased regulatory requirements and costs and potential impacts to macroeconomic conditions; changes in laws or the regulatory environment, including regulatory reform initiatives and policies of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the SEC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — Division of Financial Institutions, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore; changes and effects thereof in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including the ongoing trade, economic and political disputes between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China and the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve; changes in the commercial and consumer real estate markets; changes in consumer or commercial spending, savings and borrowing habits, and patterns and behaviors; the impact from potential changes to income tax laws and regulations, federal spending and economic stimulus programs; the impact of any future U.S. federal government shutdown and uncertainty regarding the U.S. federal government’s debt limit and credit rating; the Company’s ability to compete effectively against financial institutions and other entities, including as a result of emerging technologies; the soundness of other financial institutions; the success and timing of the Company’s business strategies; the Company’s ability to retain key officers and employees; the impact on the Company’s funding costs, net interest income and net interest margin from changes in key variable market interest rates, competition, regulatory requirements and the Company’s product mix; changes in the Company’s costs of operation, compliance and expansion; the Company’s ability to adopt and successfully integrate new technologies into its business in a strategic manner; the impact of the benchmark interest rate reform in the U.S. including the transition away from the U.S. dollar (“USD”) London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) to alternative reference rates; the impact of communications or technology disruption, failure in, or breach of, the Company’s operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third party vendors with which the Company does 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, and materially impact the Company’s ability to provide services to its clients; the adequacy of the Company’s risk management framework, disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; future credit quality and performance, including the Company’s expectations regarding future credit losses and allowance levels; the impact of adverse changes to the Company’s credit ratings from major credit rating agencies; the impact of adverse judgments or settlements in litigation; the impact on the Company’s operations due to political developments, pandemics, wars, civil unrest, terrorism or other hostilities that may disrupt or increase volatility in securities or otherwise affect business and economic conditions; heightened regulatory and governmental oversight and scrutiny of the Company’s business practices, including dealings with consumers; the impact of reputational risk from negative publicity, fines, penalties and other negative consequences from regulatory violations, legal actions and the Company’s interactions with business partners, counterparties, service providers and other third parties; the impact of regulatory investigations and 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; the Company’s capital requirements and its ability to generate capital internally or raise capital on favorable terms; the impact on the Company’s liquidity due to changes in the Company’s ability to receive dividends from its subsidiaries; any strategic acquisitions or divestitures; changes in the equity and debt securities markets; fluctuations in the Company’s stock price; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the impact of increased focus on social, environmental and sustainability matters, which may affect the Company’s operations as well as those of its customers and the economy more broadly; and the impact of climate change, natural or man-made disasters or calamities, such as wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes or other events that may directly or indirectly result in a negative impact on the Company’s financial performance.

For a more detailed discussion of some of the factors that might cause such differences, see the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 under the heading Item 1A. Risk Factors and the information set forth under Item 1A. Risk Factors in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. You should treat forward-looking statements as speaking only as of the date they are made and based only on information then actually known to the Company. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of events or circumstances after the date of such statements except as required by law.