East West Bancorp (EWBC) Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference summary

Market positioning and growth strategy

• Maintains a U.S.-centric focus with 94% of loans and most deposits in U.S. dollars, while leveraging cross-border capabilities for organic growth, especially in Southern California and major U.S. cities with strong Asian ties.

• Benefits from demographic trends: high education, income, and wealth in core markets drive deposit and wealth growth.

• Differentiates by positioning as "too strong to fail," supported by robust capital, liquidity, and profitability, capturing market share from less diversified or rebranding competitors.

• Growth fueled by grassroots deposit acquisition, partnerships (e.g., Worldpay), and expansion into new markets and verticals.

• Deposit mix remains stable in the mid-to-high 20% range for transactional accounts, with upside potential if rates fall.

Deposit and funding management

• Deposit growth led by retail bankers' direct outreach and enhanced by new merchant services for small businesses.

• Tariff refunds have provided a temporary boost to deposit balances, with residuals expected to remain within the bank.

• CD pricing strategy focuses on retention, not aggressive growth, with current rates below market to reward relationship value.

• $12–13 billion in CDs reprice each quarter; duration extension is managed through tiered CD offerings.

Loan portfolio and diversification

• Loan growth guidance raised, led by single-family mortgages with low risk and strong demand, even in higher rate environments.

• CRE lending is selective, focusing on long-term relationships and attractive yields; C&I growth is diversified with no single segment exceeding 5% of the balance sheet.

• Portfolio management aims for a balanced mix across single-family, CRE, and commercial loans.