Basis of Presentation and Current Accounting Developments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Basis of Presentation and Current Accounting Developments

East West Bancorp, Inc. (referred to herein on an unconsolidated basis as “East West” and on a consolidated basis as the “Company”) is a registered bank holding company that offers a full range of banking services to individuals and businesses through its subsidiary bank, East West Bank (“East West Bank” or the “Bank”) and its subsidiaries. The unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (“this Form 10-Q”) include the accounts of East West, East West Bank and East West’s subsidiaries. Intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. As of September 30, 2021, East West also has six wholly-owned subsidiaries that are statutory business trusts (the “Trusts”). In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 810, Consolidation, the Trusts are not included on the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements are presented in accordance with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), applicable guidelines prescribed by regulatory authorities and general practices in the banking industry. While the unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for fair presentation, they primarily serve to update the most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K, and may not include all the information and notes necessary to constitute a complete set of financial statements. Accordingly, they should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2021 (the “Company’s 2020 Form 10-K”). In addition, certain items on the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes for the prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the Consolidated Financial Statements, income and expenses during the reporting period, and the related disclosures. Although our current estimates contemplate current conditions and how we expect them to change in the future, it is reasonably possible that actual results could be materially different from those estimates. Hence, the current period’s results of operations are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any future interim period or for the year as a whole. Events subsequent to the Consolidated Balance Sheet date have been evaluated through the date the Consolidated Financial Statements are issued for inclusion in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements Adopted


Standard	Required Date of Adoption	Description	Effect on Financial Statements
Standards Adopted in 2021
ASU 2020-08, Codification Improvements to Subtopic 310-20, Receivables— Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs	January 1, 2021 Early adoption is not permitted.	The amendments in this ASU updates ASU 2017-08, Receivables — Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities, by clarifying that an entity should reevaluate whether a callable debt security is within the scope of paragraph 310-20-35-33 for each reporting period. If the security contained additional future call dates, an entity should consider whether the amortized cost basis exceeded the amount repayable by the issuer at the next call date. If so, the excess should be amortized to the next call date. This ASU also clarifies if there is no remaining premium or if there are no further call dates, the entity shall reset the effective yield using the payment terms of the debt security. The amendments of this guidance should be applied on a prospective basis as of the beginning of the period of adoption for existing or newly purchased callable debt securities.	The Company adopted this guidance on a prospective basis in January 2021. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.


Standard	Required Date of Adoption	Description	Effect on Financial Statements
Standards Adopted in 2021 (continued)

ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting and subsequent related ASU 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope	Effective for all entities from the dates of issuance through December 31, 2022.	In March 2020, the FASB issued an ASU related to contracts or hedging relationships that reference London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or other reference rates that are expected to be discontinued due to reference rate reform. This ASU provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions regarding the accounting requirements related to the modification of certain contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that are affected by the reference rate reform. The guidance permits the Company to make a one-time election to sell and/or transfer qualifying held-to-maturity securities, and not to apply modification accounting or remeasure lease payments in lease contracts if the changes to the contract are related to the discontinuation of the reference rate. If certain criteria are met, the amendments also allow exceptions to the de-designation criteria of the hedging relationships and the assessment of hedge effectiveness during the transition period. This one-time election may be made at any time after March 12, 2020, but no later than December 31, 2022. In January 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-01 as subsequent amendments, which expanded the scope of Topic 848 to include all affected derivatives and clarified certain optional expedients and exceptions regarding the hedge accounting for derivative contracts affected by the discounting transition. The amendments of this guidance could be elected retrospectively or prospectively to new modifications made on or after the date of issuance of this ASU, January 7, 2021.	The Company adopted this guidance on a prospective basis in January 2021. At the time of adoption, the guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company will continue to track the exposure as of each reporting period and to assess the impact as the reference rate transition occurs through the cessation of LIBOR.


ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes	January 1, 2021 Early adoption is permitted on January 1, 2020.	This ASU simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the existing guidance. This includes removing exceptions to: 1) the incremental approach for intraperiod tax allocation, 2) the requirement to recognize a deferred tax liability for equity method investments when a foreign subsidiary becomes an equity method investment, 3) the ability not to recognize a deferred tax liability when a foreign equity method investment becomes a subsidiary, and 4) the general methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period when a year-to-date loss exceeds the anticipated loss for the year. In addition, this ASU simplifies the accounting for income taxes related to franchise taxes, the tax basis of goodwill and the method for recognizing an enacted change in tax laws. This ASU also specifies that an entity is not required to allocate the consolidated amount of tax expense to a legal entity that is not subject to tax in its separate financial statements. This ASU also makes improvements in the accounting for income taxes related to employee stock ownership plans and equity method investments in qualified affordable housing projects. This guidance should be applied on either a retrospective, modified retrospective or prospective basis depending on the amendments.	The Company adopted this guidance in January 2021 using the transition guidance prescribed by this ASU. At the time of adoption, this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.