EAST WEST BANCORP INC

The Company’s primary source of revenue is net interest income, which is the interest income earned on interest-earning assets less interest expense paid on interest-bearing liabilities. Net interest margin is the ratio of net interest income to average interest-earning assets. Net interest income and net interest margin are impacted by several factors, including changes in average balances and the composition of interest-earning assets and funding sources, market interest rate fluctuations and the slope of the yield curve, repricing characteristics and maturity of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, the volume of noninterest-bearing sources of funds and asset quality.

Net interest income and net interest margin for the first quarter of 2024 decreased year-over-year, which primarily reflected the higher cost of interest-bearing deposits, shifts in the deposit mix to time deposits and higher average balances of short-term and BTFP borrowings, partially offset by higher loan yields, loan growth and an increase in interest-bearing cash and deposits with banks. The changes in yields and rates reflected higher benchmark interest rates.

Average interest-earning assets were $68.1 billion for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $6.6 billion or 11% from $61.5 billion for the first quarter of 2023. The increase in average interest-earning assets primarily reflected loan growth, and higher interest-bearing cash and deposits with banks.

The yield on average interest-earning assets for the first quarter of 2024 was 6.04%, an increase of 53 bps from 5.51% for the first quarter of 2023. The year-over-year increase in the yield on average interest-earning assets primarily resulted from higher benchmark interest rates.

The average loan yield for the first quarter of 2024 was 6.71%, an increase of 57 bps from 6.14% for the first quarter of 2023. The year-over-year increase in the average loan yield reflected the loan portfolio’s sensitivity to higher benchmark interest rates and loan growth. Approximately 57% and 59% of loans held-for-investment were variable-rateas of March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Deposits are an important source of funds and impact both net interest income and net interest margin. Average deposits were $57.4 billion for the first quarter of 2024, which increased $2.5 billion or 5% from $55.0 billion for the first quarter of 2023. Average noninterest-bearing deposits were $15.0 billion for the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $4.7 billion or 24% from $19.7 billion for the first quarter of 2023, which reflected the deposit mix shift to time deposits. Average noninterest-bearing deposits made up 26% and 36% of average deposits for the first quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The average cost of deposits was 2.84% for the first quarter of 2024, a 124 bps increase from 1.60% for the first quarter of 2023. The average cost of interest-bearing deposits was 3.85% for the first quarter of 2024, a 136 bps increase from 2.49% for the first quarter of 2023. The year-over-year increase primarily reflected higher rates paid on time deposits, money market and checking deposits in response to the higher interest rate environment.

The average cost of funds calculation includes deposits, short-term and BTFP borrowings, FHLB advances, assets sold under repurchase agreements (“repurchase agreements”), and long-term debt. For the first quarter of 2024, the average cost of funds was 2.97%, a 128 bps increase from 1.69% for the first quarter of 2023. The year-over year increase was mainly driven by the increased cost of deposits discussed above.

The Company utilizes various tools to manage interest rate risk. Refer to the Interest Rate Risk Management section of Item 2. MD&A — Risk Management — Market Risk Managementin this Form 10-Q.

The following table presents the interest spread, net interest margin, average balances, interest income and expense, and the average yield/rate by asset and liability component for the first quarters of 2024 and 2023:

(1)Annualized.

(2)Includes the average balances and interest income for securities and loans purchased under resale agreements for the first quarter of 2023.

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

(4)Includes the amortization of net premiums on AFS debt securities of $7 million and $9 million for the first quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively.

(5)Average balances include nonperforming loans and loans held-for-sale.

(6)Loans include the accretion of net deferred loan fees and amortization of net premiums, which totaled $14 million for each of the first quarters of 2024 and 2023.

The following table summarizes the extent to which changes in (1) interest rates, and (2) volume of average interest-earning assets and average interest-bearing liabilities impacted the Company’s net interest income for the periods presented. The total change for each category of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities is segmented into changes attributable to variations in volume and yield/rate. Changes that are not solely due to either volume or yield/rate are allocated proportionally based on the absolute value of the change related to average volume and average yield/rate.

(1)Includes the impact of securities and loans purchased under resale agreements for the first quarter of 2023.