Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

East West Bancorp, Inc. 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 and its subsidiaries (“East West Bank” or the “Bank”). The unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements in 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 March 31, 2023, East West also has six wholly-owned subsidiaries that are statutory business trusts (the “Trusts”). In accordance with 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 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 2022 Form 10-K.

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 periods, 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.

Risk and Uncertainties

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March 2023 and of First Republic Bank in May 2023 have resulted in significant disruption in the financial services industry, adversely impacted the volatility and market prices of the securities of financial institutions and resulted in lower levels of deposits for us and many other financial institutions. These events have adversely impacted, and could continue to, adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition, as well as the market price and volatility of our common stock. In response to these failures, many large depositors have withdrawn deposits in excess of FDIC insurance limits in order to diversify their risk. If a significant portion of our deposits were to be withdrawn within a short period of time such that additional sources of funding would be required to meet withdrawal demands, we may be unable to obtain funding at favorable terms, which may have an adverse effect on our net interest margin. Moreover, obtaining adequate funding to meet our deposit obligations may be more challenging during periods of elevated interest rates and financial industry instability, both of which we are currently experiencing. Our ability to attract depositors during a time of actual or perceived distress or instability in the marketplace may be limited. Further, interest rates paid for borrowing generally exceed the interest rates paid on deposits. This spread may be exacerbated by higher prevailing interest rates. In addition, because our AFS debt securities lose value when interest rates rise, after-tax proceeds resulting from the sale of such assets may not be sufficient to recover the full amount of our exposure. Under these circumstances, we may be required to access funding from sources such as the Federal Reserve’s discount window or additional funding from its recently established Bank Term Funding Program (“BTFP”), from which we borrowed $4.50 billion during the first quarter of 2023, in order to manage our liquidity risk. See Note 10 — Short-Term Borrowings and Long-Term Debt to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-Q for additional information related to the Company’s borrowings from the BTFP.