East West Bancorp Declares Third Quarter 2008 Dividend

PASADENA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
East West Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:EWBC), parent company of East West
Bank, today announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly
common stock cash dividend of $0.10 per share for the third quarter of
2008. The dividend will be payable on or about August 19, 2008 to
shareholders of record on August 6, 2008.

About East West

East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company, with $11.8 billion
in assets, whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market
under the symbol "EWBC". The company's wholly owned subsidiary, East
West Bank, is the second largest independent commercial bank
headquartered in Southern California with 72 branch locations. The
Bank is chartered by the State of California and its deposits are
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or FDIC, to the
maximum extent permitted by law. East West Bank serves the community
with 70 branch locations across Southern and Northern California and a
branch location in Houston, Texas. East West Bank has three
international locations in Greater China, including a full-service
branch in Hong Kong and representative offices in Beijing and
Shanghai. For more information on East West Bancorp, 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, 2007 (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 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; 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, Inc.
Thomas Tolda, Chief Financial Officer, 626-768-6788

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