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 margin for the third quarter of 2024, net interest income and net interest margin for the first nine months of 2024 all decreased year-over-year. These year-over-year decreases were primarily due to higher deposit funding costs and shifts in the deposit mix to higher cost time and money market deposits, and higher Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) advances, partially offset by higher loan yields and loan growth, increases in AFS debt securities’ volume and yield, and a decrease in Bank Term Funding Program (“BTFP”) average balances. The increase in net interest income for the third quarter of 2024, compared with the same prior year period primarily reflected loan growth and an increase in AFS debt securities’ volume, which slightly outpaced the higher cost of deposits and an increase in FHLB advances.

Average interest-earning assets were $70.3 billion for the third quarter of 2024, an increase of $5.2 billion or 8% from $65.1 billion for the third quarter of 2023. For the first nine months of 2024, average interest-earning assets were $68.9 billion, an increase of $5.4 billion or 8% from $63.5 billion for the first nine months of 2023. The year-over-year increases in average interest-earning assets primarily reflected loan growth and an increase in AFS debt securities.

The yield on average interest-earning assets for the third quarter of 2024 was 6.09%, an increase of 22 bps from 5.87% for the third quarter of 2023. The yield on average interest-earning assets for the first nine months of 2024 was 6.08%, an increase of 39 bps from 5.69% for the first nine months of 2023. The year-over-year increases in the yield on average interest-earning assets primarily reflected loan growth, an increase in AFS debt securities and higher benchmark interest rates.

The average loan yield for the third quarter of 2024 was 6.73%, an increase of 22 bps from 6.51% for the third quarter of 2023. The average loan yield for the first nine months of 2024 was 6.72%, an increase of 39 bps from 6.33% for the first nine months of 2023. The year-over-year increases in the average loan yield reflected the loan portfolio’s sensitivity to higher benchmark interest rates and loan growth. Approximately 58% of loans held-for-investment were variable rateas of both September 30, 2024 and 2023.

Deposits are an important source of funding for the Company. Average deposits were $60.6 billion for the third quarter of 2024, which increased $5.4 billion or 10% from $55.2 billion for the third quarter of 2023. For the first nine months of 2024, average deposits were $58.9 billion, which increased $4.1 billion or 7% from $54.8 billion for the first nine months of 2023.

Average noninterest-bearing deposits were $14.6 billion for the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of $1.7 billion or 10% from $16.3 billion for the third quarter of 2023. For the first nine months of 2024, average noninterest-bearing deposits were $14.7 billion, a decrease of $2.9 billion or 16% from $17.6 billion for the first nine months of 2023. The year-over-year decreases in noninterest-bearing deposits reflected the deposit mix shift to time and money market deposits. Average noninterest-bearing deposits made up 24% and 30% of average deposits for the third quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively, and 25% and 32% for the first nine months of 2024 and 2023, respectively.

During the third quarter and first nine months of 2024, the average cost of deposits increased 55 bps and 87 bps, respectively; while the average cost of interest-bearing deposits increased 48 bps and 88 bps, respectively. These year-over-year increases primarily reflected shifts in the deposit mix to time and money market deposits, and rising deposit costs in response to the higher interest rate environment.

The average cost of funds calculation includes deposits, BTFP, short-term borrowings and federal funds purchased, FHLB advances, securities sold under repurchase agreements (“repurchase agreements”), and long-term debt and finance lease liabilities. For the third quarter of 2024, the average cost of funds was 3.12%, a 53 bp increase from 2.59% for the third quarter of 2023. For the first nine months of 2024, the average cost of funds was 3.07%, an 86 bp increase from 2.21% for the first nine months of 2023. The year-over year increases were mainly driven by the increased cost of deposits as 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 third quarters of 2024 and 2023:

(1)Annualized.

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

(3)Includes the amortization of net premiums on AFS debt securities of $9 million and $8 million for the third quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively.

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

(5)Loans include the accretion of net deferred loan fees and amortization of net premiums, which totaled $12 million and $13 million for the third quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively.

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 nine months 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 nine months of 2023. There were no loans purchased under resale agreements for the first nine months of 2024.

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

(4)Includes the amortization of net premiums on AFS debt securities of $26 million and $24 million for the first nine months 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 $40 million for each of the first nine months 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 affected 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 purchased under resale agreements for the third quarters of 2024 and 2023, and first nine months of 2024. Includes the impacts of securities and loans purchased under resale agreements for the first nine months of 2023.