East West Bancorp (EWBC) Risk Analysis

We operate in a heavily regulated industry and face significant risks from lawsuits and proceedings brought by customers, borrowers, bank regulators and counterparties. These actions include claims for monetary damages, penalties, fines, and demands for injunctive relief. If these lawsuits or proceedings, whether founded or unfounded, are not resolved in a favorable manner to us, they could lead to significant financial obligations for us, as well as restrictions or changes to how we conduct our business. Although we establish accruals for legal matters when and as required by U.S. GAAP and certain expenses and liabilities in connection with such matters may or may not be covered by insurance, the amount of loss ultimately incurred in relation to those matters may be substantially higher than the amounts accrued and/or insured. As a participant in the financial services industry, we expect to continue to incur significant risks arising from litigation and government scrutiny related to our businesses and operations. Substantial legal liability and government scrutiny could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, we may suffer significant reputational harm as a result of lawsuits and proceedings, adversely impacting our ability to attract and retain customers, employees, and investors. Moreover, it may be difficult to predict the outcome of certain legal proceedings, which may present additional uncertainty to our business prospects.

A substantial number of our customers have economic and cultural ties to Asia. The Bank's international presence includes locations in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Our presence in Asia carries certain risks, including risks relating to our ability to generate revenues from foreign operations and to leverage and conduct business on an international basis, due to legal, regulatory, and tax requirements and restrictions; tariffs, trade barriers, or other trade restrictions; uncertainties regarding liability; difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations; political and economic risks; and financial risks including currency and payment risks. For example, economic trade and political tensions, including tariffs and other punitive trade policies and disputes between the U.S. and China pose a risk to our business and customers. On February 1, 2025, the Trump administration announced the imposition of a 10% tariff on imports from China and a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada. However, the tariffs on Mexico and Canada have been temporarily paused for 30 days following agreements from both countries. The timing and extent of these trade policy changes remain subject to further developments. The imposition of tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, export controls or other trade restrictions on products, materials or other goods that our customers import or export could impact prices, reduce demand, or otherwise negatively impact our customers' businesses and their ability to service debt. We may also experience a decrease in the demand for loans and other financial products or a deterioration in the credit quality of the loans extended to customers in industry sectors that are most sensitive to the trade restrictions. Further, a downturn in economic growth and real estate markets in China and volatility in the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges, among other things, may negatively impact asset values and the profitability and liquidity of our customers operating in this region. These risks could adversely affect the success of our international operations and could have a material adverse effect on our overall business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, we face risks that our employees and affiliates may fail to comply with applicable U.S. and foreign laws and regulations governing our international operations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could, among other things, result in enforcement actions and fines against us, limitations on our conduct and reputational harm, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes, extreme weather conditions, hurricanes, floods, droughts, widespread health emergencies or pandemics and other acts of nature, and geopolitical events involving political unrest, terrorism, or military conflicts have in the past, and may in the future, cause substantial damage and loss to real and personal property. These events can seriously harm our customers and adversely affect our business operations, including by impairing borrowers' ability to service their loans, decreasing the level and duration of deposits by customers, eroding the value of loan collateral, or resulting in an increase in nonperforming assets, net charge-offs, and provision for credit losses. In addition, natural disasters and geopolitical events could also create macroeconomic challenges such as supply-chain shortages, volatile energy prices, tightened monetary policy and inflation, and economic instability, and otherwise cause a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Climate change also presents physical risks to us and our customers, including from discrete weather events, changing climate patterns and other disruptions, as well as transition risks of a shift to a low-carbon economy, including changes in policies, regulations, technologies, consumer sentiment and preferences. Regulatory changes regarding climate risk management and practices may result in higher regulatory and compliance risks and costs. Our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our practices related to climate change, including our direct or indirect involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing climate change, as well as any decisions to conduct or change our activities in response to climate change considerations. Our ability to attract and retain employees may also be harmed if our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective or insufficient. These climate-driven changes could materially and negatively impact our and our customers' business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

Our foreign currency translation exposure derives, in part, from our China subsidiary that has its functional currency denominated in Chinese Renminbi ("RMB"). In addition, as we continue to expand our cross-border business, we have a higher volume of customer transactions in foreign currencies. We have entered into derivative instruments to offset some of the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations. However, given the volatility of exchange rates, there is no assurance that we will be able to effectively manage foreign currency translation risk. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could have a material unfavorable impact on our net income, therefore adversely affecting our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our business is highly dependent on the security and efficacy of our infrastructure, computer, network and data management systems, as well as those of third parties with which we interact. We face risks of loss resulting from, but not limited to, errors relating to transaction processing and technology, breaches of our internal control system or external compliance requirements, fraud or unauthorized transactions by employees or third parties, cybersecurity incidents, business continuation and disaster recovery. The potential for operational loss exposure exists throughout our organization and among our interactions with third parties, and are expected to increase as we expand our interconnectivity with our customers and other third parties. Any of these operational risk exposures, if realized, could adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, and liquidity, and result in regulatory action, significant litigation exposure and harm to our reputation. Our ability to process transactions, provide service and conduct our business may be adversely affected by significant disruptions to us or our vendors, which can be caused by events that are wholly or partially beyond our control. These events include, and are not limited to, electrical, telecommunications, networking or other major physical infrastructure outages, cybersecurity incidents, pandemics, natural disasters, and political or social events, including terrorist acts, wars and civil disturbances. We have taken measures to implement backup systems and safeguards and frequently update our systems to support our operations and growth, requiring significant costs and creating risks associated with implementing and integrating new systems. To date, we have not experienced any known cybersecurity incidents resulting in a material impact on our business, financial condition, or operating results. However, we can provide no assurance that all of our security measures will be effective. Third parties that facilitate our business activities could also be sources of operational and security risks to us. Our ability to implement backup systems or other safeguards with respect to third-party systems is limited. Furthermore, an attack on or failure of a third-party system may not be revealed to us in a timely manner, which could compromise our ability to respond effectively. Some third parties may engage vendors of their own, which introduces the risk that these "fourth parties" could be the source of operational and security failures. If a third party or fourth party with access to the customer account data on our systems experiences a breach or misappropriates such data, we and our customers could suffer material harm, including heightened risk of fraudulent transactions, losses from fraudulent transactions, increased operational costs to remediate any security breach, and reputational harm. Cybersecurity risks, including ransomware, malware, social engineering, and phishing attacks, for financial institutions have significantly increased in recent years in part because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the internet and telecommunication technologies to conduct financial transactions, the significant increased use of remote workstations by employees in recent years, and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists, nation-states, and other threat actors. Our business and many of our customers may have experienced, and may experience again in the future, losses incurred due to fraud or theft related to customers, employees or third parties. These losses may negatively affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, reputation or prospects. We have limited ability to assure the safety and security of our customers' transactions with us to the extent our customers are using their own devices or are a victim of cyberattacks, fraud or other scams by threat actors. Failure to mitigate breaches of security, or to comply with increasingly demanding new and changing industry standards and regulatory requirements could also result in violation of applicable privacy laws, reputational damage, regulatory fines, litigation exposure, increased security compliance costs, and could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The financial services industry is continuously undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services, including financial technology and non-banking entities. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better serve customers and to reduce costs. Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological solutions. We may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could have a material adverse impact on our business and, in turn, our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if we do not implement systems effectively or if our outsourcing business partners do not perform their functions properly, there could be an adverse effect on us. There can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively maintain or improve our systems and processes, or utilize outsourced talent, to meet our business needs successfully. Any such failure could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

From time to time, we may seek to implement new business arrangements or new lines of business or offer new products and services within existing lines of business. There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed. We may invest significant time and resources in developing and marketing new business arrangements, lines of business and/or new products and services. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new business initiatives, new lines of business and/or new products or services may not be achieved, and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible, which could in turn have a material negative effect on our operating results. New business arrangements, new lines of business and/or new products or services also could subject us to additional regulatory requirements, increased scrutiny by our regulators and other legal risks. For example, we and other regional banks are increasingly partnering with fintech and other providers to distribute or market our products and services. Bank regulators have, and may in the future, hold banks responsible for the activities of these fintech companies, including in respect of BSA/AML and consumer compliance matters, or may take the view that these relationships present safety and soundness issues.

Competition for qualified personnel in the banking industry is intense and there is a limited number of qualified people with knowledge of, and experience in, the regional banking industry, especially in the West Coast markets, and in international banking operations, especially in Asia. The process of recruiting personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our strategies is often lengthy. The labor market is currently challenging, with high employee turnover and increased wage pressure. In addition, the proliferation of hybrid work environments may exacerbate the challenges of attracting and retaining talented employees as job markets may be less constrained by physical geography. Our success depends, to a significant degree, on our ability to attract and retain highly-skilled and qualified personnel, as well as the continued contributions of those individuals. In particular, our success has been and continues to be highly dependent upon the abilities of certain key executives. Accordingly, we believe that our future success is dependent upon the development and, when needed, implementation of adequate succession plans. Although both the Board of Directors and management monitor our succession planning for our senior management team, the loss of key personnel, or the inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the future, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or operating results.

We operate in a highly competitive environment. Our competitors include, but are not limited to, commercial banks, savings and loan associations, finance companies, brokerage firms, insurance companies, credit unions, mortgage banks, nonbank financial institutions, and other regional, national, and global financial institutions. Some of our major competitors include multinational financial service companies whose greater resources may afford them a marketplace advantage by enabling them to maintain numerous locations and mount extensive promotional and advertising campaigns. Areas of competition include interest rates on loans and deposits, customer services, and range of price and quality of products and services, including new technology-driven products and services. Ongoing or increased competition may put pressure on the pricing for our products and services or may cause us to lose market share, particularly with respect to traditional banking products such as loans and deposits. Failure to attract and retain banking customers may adversely impact our loan and deposit growth and in turn, our revenues.

Threats to our reputation can come from many sources, including unethical practices, employee misconduct, failure to deliver minimum standards of service or quality, compliance deficiencies, and questionable or fraudulent activities of our customers or other threat actors. We have policies and procedures, including our Code of Conduct, in place to govern the personal conduct, action and work relationship of our employees with customers, fellow employees, competitors, governmental officials, and suppliers under both official and unofficial situations, in which employees may reasonably be perceived by others as acting as representatives of us. In addition, employees who fail to comply with the Code of Conduct may be subject to disciplinary action, termination of employment, and/or prosecution. However, these policies and procedures may not be fully effective. Negative publicity regarding our business, employees or customers, with or without merit, may result in the loss of customers, investors and employees, costly litigation, a decline in revenues and increased governmental scrutiny.