EAST WEST BANCORP INC

Note 4 —Securities

The following tables present the amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, and fair value by major categories of AFS and HTM debt securities as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the amortized cost of debt securities excluded accrued interest receivables of $44 million and $42 million, respectively, which are included in Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. For the Company’s accounting policy related to debt securities’ accrued interest receivable, see Note 1 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Significant Accounting Policies — Allowance for Credit Losses on Available-for-Sale Debt Securities and Allowance for Credit Losses on Held-to-Maturity Debt Securities to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

Unrealized Losses of Available-for-Sale Debt Securities

The following tables present the fair value and the associated gross unrealized losses of the Company’s AFS debt securities, aggregated by investment category and the length of time that the securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had 547 AFS debt securities in a gross unrealized loss position withno credit impairment, primarily consisting of 255 U.S. government agency and U.S. government-sponsored enterprise mortgage-backed securities,66 corporate debt securities, and 99 non-agency mortgage-backed securities. In comparison, as of December 31, 2022, the Company had 559 AFS debt securities in a gross unrealized loss position withno credit impairment, primarily consisting of 263 U.S. government agency and U.S. government-sponsored enterprise mortgage-backed securities,100 non-agency mortgage-backed securities, and 68 corporate debt securities.

Allowance for Credit Losses on Available-for-Sale Debt Securities

The Company evaluates each AFS debt security where the fair value declines below amortized cost. For a discussion of the factors and criteria the Company uses in analyzing securities for impairment related to credit losses, see Note 1 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Significant Accounting Policies — Allowance for Credit Losses on Available-for-Sale Debt Securities to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

The gross unrealized losses presented in the preceding tables were primarily attributable to interest rate movement and the widening of liquidity and/or credit spreads. U.S. Treasury, U.S. government agency, U.S. government-sponsored agency, and U.S. government-sponsored enterprise debt and mortgage-backed securities are issued, guaranteed, or otherwise supported by the U.S. government and have a zero credit loss assumption. The remaining securities that were in an unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2023 were mainly comprised of the following:

•Corporate debt securities — The market value decline as of December 31, 2023 was primarily due to interest rate movement and spread widening. A portion of the corporate debt securities is comprised of subordinated debt securities issued by U.S. banks. Despite the reduction of the market value of these securities after the banking sector disruption in 2023, these securities are nearly all rated investment grade by NRSROs or issued by well-capitalized financial institutions with strong profitability. The contractual payments from these corporate debt securities have been and are expected to be received on time. The Company will continue to monitor the market developments in the banking sector and the credit performance of these securities.

•Non-agency mortgage-backed securities — The market value decline as of December 31, 2023, was primarily due to interest rate movement and spread widening. Since these securities are rated investment grade by NRSROs, or have high priority in the cash flow waterfall within the securitization structure, and the contractual payments have historically been on time, the Company believes the risk of credit losses on these securities is low.

As of both December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company intended to hold the AFS debt securities with unrealized losses through the anticipated recovery period and it was more-likely-than-not that the Company would not have to sell these securities before the recovery of their amortized cost. The issuers of these securities have not, to the Company’s knowledge, established any cause for default on these securities. As a result, the Company expects to recover the entire amortized cost basis of these securities. Accordingly, there wasno allowance for credit losses provided against these securities as of both December 31, 2023 and 2022. In addition, there wasno provision for credit losses recognized for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021.

Allowance for Credit Losses on Held-to-Maturity Debt Securities

The Company separately evaluates its HTM debt securities for any credit losses using an expected loss model, similar to the methodology used for loans. For additional information on the Company’s credit loss methodology, refer to Note 1 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Significant Accounting Policies — Allowance for Credit Losses on Held-to-Maturity Debt Securitiesto the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

The Company monitors the credit quality of the HTM debt securities using external credit ratings. As of December 31, 2023, all HTM securities were rated investment grade by NRSROs and issued, guaranteed, or supported by U.S. government entities and agencies. Accordingly, the Company applied a zero credit loss assumption andno allowance for credit losses was recorded as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. Overall, the Company believes that the credit support levels of the debt securities are strong and, based on current assessments and macroeconomic forecasts, expects that full contractual cash flows will be received.

Realized Gains and Losses

The following table presents the gross realized gains from the sales and impairment write-off of AFS debt securities and the related tax (benefit) expense included in earnings for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:

(1)During 2023, the Company recognized $7 million in net losses on AFS securities as a component ofnoninterest income in the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Income, consisting of a $10 million impairment write-off on a subordinated debt security, partially offset by a $3 million gain on the sale of the same security.

Interest Income

The following table presents the composition of interest income on debt securities for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:

Contractual Maturities of Available-for-Sale and Held-to-Maturity Debt Securities

The following tables present the contractual maturities, amortized cost, fair value and weighted average yields of AFS and HTM debt securities as of December 31, 2023. Expected maturities will differ from contractual maturities on certain securities as the issuers and borrowers of the underlying collateral may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without prepayment penalties.

(1)Weighted-average yields are computed based on amortized cost balances.

(2)Yields on tax-exempt securities are not presented on a tax-equivalent basis.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, AFS and HTM debt securities with carrying values of $7.0 billion and $794 million, respectively, were pledged to secure borrowings, public deposits, repurchase agreements and for other purposes required or permitted by law.

Restricted Equity Securities

The following table presents the restricted equity securities included in Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2023 and 2022: