Business Wire.- East West Bancorp, Inc. (“East West” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, today reported its financial results for the full year and fourth quarter of 2021. For the full year 2021, net income was $873.0 million, or $6.10 per diluted share. For the fourth quarter of 2021, net income was $217.8 million, or $1.52 per diluted share.
“East West achieved record earnings in 2021. Our record total revenue of $1.8 billion grew by 13% year-over-year and our record net income of $873 million grew by 54%,” stated Dominic Ng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of East West. “We delivered an attractive return on assets of 1.5% and a return on tangible equity1 of 17.2% in 2021. Our outstanding financial performance reflected robust net interest income and fee income growth, industry-leading efficiency, and substantially improved asset quality. Year-over-year, nonperforming assets decreased by 56% and criticized loans declined by 32%.”
“Total loans reached a record $41.7 billion as of December 31, 2021. Loans grew by $4.3 billion or 12% year-over-year, excluding the impact of the Paycheck Protection Program. Total deposits grew to $53.4 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $8.5 billion or 19% year-over-year, driven by strong growth in noninterest-bearing demand deposits. Demand deposits now make up 43% of our deposits, up from 36% a year ago.”
“We wish to thank our team of more than 3,000 associates who work tirelessly to support our customers in their banking needs. Our ability to deliver strong financial performance year in, year out is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of our associates and their commitment to serve our customers with excellence,” continued Ng.
“We are entering 2022 from a position of strength and are pleased to announce a 21% increase in our common stock dividend. We expect to deliver yet another year of outstanding profitability for our shareholders, supported by solid loan and deposit growth, healthy capital levels, and the asset sensitive nature of our balance sheet in a rising interest rate environment,” concluded Ng.