EAST WEST BANCORP INC

Compensation for the NEOs and other executive officers is typically evaluated and set by the Compensation Committee in the first quarter of each year, using the competitive compensation data provided by the independent compensation consultant, peer data, as well as Company, business departments, and individual performance data. An executive’s compensation is generally established after considering the following factors:

As a growing organization, we encounter significant competition for top management talent, including those individuals with the strategic vision, understanding of specialized industries, and the international banking experience necessary to sustain our growth. This challenge to attract and retain qualified personnel has been an important consideration in our compensation decisions, and we expect it will continue to be a significant consideration going forward.

For the CEO, the Compensation Committee annually reviews and approves the corporate goals and objectives that are relevant to the CEO’s performance, evaluates the CEO’s performance against those objectives, and approves the CEO’s compensation level based on that evaluation. With assistance from the independent compensation consultant, the Compensation Committee also considers the Company’s Peer Group and other peer data on base pay, performance-based bonus targets, and long-term incentive awards when setting compensation types and amounts for the CEO.

The Compensation Committee separately reviews and discusses with the CEO his annual compensation recommendations for the other NEOs. The Compensation Committee considers a variety of factors when determining and approving the target compensation structure and final payout for NEOs. For example, for base salary adjustments, compensation data from our Peer Group and survey data for similar jobs and job levels are considered. For annual performance-based bonus payout and long-term incentive awards, the Compensation Committee considers the executive’s achievement against performance goals, along with individual contributions toward Company objectives.

EAST WEST BANCORP 2026 Proxy Statement41

The Compensation Committee does not benchmark to a particular percentile in determining target total direct compensation for the CEO and other NEOs. Rather, it uses proxy Peer Group and survey data as a reference point, giving consideration to factors such as tenure, individual performance, any unique circumstances of the NEO’s position based on that individual’s responsibilities, market factors, succession considerations, and retention considerations. We believe this approach drives higher realized compensation when our financial and stock performance is strong and less realized compensation when our financial and/or stock performance is lower.

Elements of Our Executive Compensation Program