East West Bancorp Announces Conference Call to discuss Acquisition of the Operations of United Commercial Bank

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) - (800) 860-2442; International call - (412) 858-4600. Additional information for the conference call and replay is provided on the Investor Relations page at www.eastwestbank.com. Slides related to the transaction will also be posted to the company website prior to the call.

About East West

East West Bancorp (Nasdaq: EWBC) is a publicly owned company with over $19 billion in assets. The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, FDIC-insured East West Bank, is the second largest bank headquartered in California and the largest bank in the nation focused on serving the Asian American community. East West Bank has 137 branches, including 112 branches in California, nine branches in New York, five branches in metropolitan Atlanta, three branches in Massachusetts, two branches in Houston, and two branches in Seattle. East West Bank has four full-service branches in Greater China, including two branches in Hong Kong, one branch in Shanghai, and one branch in Shantou. The Bank also has representative offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China, and Taipei, Taiwan. For more information on East West Bancorp and East West Bank, visit the Company's website at www.eastwestbank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and accordingly, the cautionary statements contained in East West Bancorp’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008 (See Item I -- Business, and Item 7 -- Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Consolidated Financial Condition and Results of Operations), and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated herein by reference. These factors include, but are not limited to: the effect of interest rate and currency exchange fluctuations; competition in the financial services market for both deposits and loans; EWBC’s ability to efficiently incorporate acquisitions into its operations; the ability of borrowers to perform as required under the terms of their loans; effect of additional provisions for loan losses; effect of any goodwill impairment, the ability of EWBC and its subsidiaries to increase its customer base; the effect of regulatory and legislative action, including California tax legislation and an announcement by the state’s Franchise Tax Board regarding the taxation of Registered Investment Companies; risks inherent in possible acquisitions and FDIC-assisted transactions; and regional and general economic conditions. Actual results and performance in future periods may be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. East West expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in the Bank’s expectations of results or any change in event.

East West Bancorp
Tom Tolda
Chief Financial Officer
626-768-6788
tom.tolda@eastwestbank.com