The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (Wednesday) that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to EAST WEST BANK (EWB) under the Banking Ordinance. The granting of this banking licence took effect on 1 August 2006.
EWB is a state-chartered commercial bank established in Los Angeles and a wholly owned subsidiary of East West Bancorp, Inc. ("Bancorp"). According to the July 2006 issue of The Banker, Bancorp was the 536th largest banking group in the world in terms of tier-1 capital.
After the granting of a banking licence to EWB, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 136.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Ying-ying Cheng, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480
Hong Kong Monetary Authority
2 August 2006