CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP

Overview

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides commercial, consumer, and business banking services, including deposits, lending, and treasury services. Its lending includes commercial real estate, construction, and commercial-and-industrial loans.[1] Founded in 1962 in Los Angeles Chinatown, Cathay Bank began to serve Chinese Americans seeking access to the U.S. banking system.[1]

The company’s operations are centered in the United States, with 62 branches across nine states as of June 30, 2026, plus a branch in Hong Kong and representative offices in Taipei, Beijing, and Shanghai.[1] At that date, Cathay General Bancorp reported $24.65 billion in assets, $21.06 billion in deposits, and $20.39 billion in net loans held for investment.[2] For FY2025, it reported $742.5 million in net interest income before provision for credit losses and $75.4 million in noninterest income.[3] Cathay Bank describes its purpose as opening doors to opportunity to help customers, employees, and communities thrive.[4] [1]+3

Products & services

Cathay Bank’s lending products include commercial and industrial financing for working capital, equipment and business expansion; commercial real estate and construction loans; SBA 7(a) and 504 loans; and home-purchase and refinancing mortgages. Residential mortgages include conforming, non-conforming and jumbo loans, secured by first or subordinate liens, with fixed- and adjustable-rate options. Commercial real estate lending is secured by properties including multifamily, retail, industrial and hotel properties.[5]+4

Customer deposit products include non-interest-bearing demand, NOW, money market, savings and time accounts. Cathay Bank also provides treasury-management services for managing information and funds, handling receivables and payments, and supporting fraud prevention. International services include import and export letters of credit, inventory and receivables financing, documentary collections and remittances.[10]+2

Digital and transaction services include account and balance management, mobile check deposit, transfers, bill payment, Zelle and wire transfers; business mobile banking also supports ACH and wire approvals and Positive Pay.[13]

At year-end 2025, gross loans totaled $20.147 billion: commercial real estate was 52.4% of the total, residential mortgages and equity lines 30.1%, commercial loans 15.8%, and construction loans 1.7%. Deposits totaled $20.894 billion, comprising time deposits (46.5%), money market (18.2%), non-interest demand (16.8%), NOW (11.3%) and savings (7.2%). These are balance-sheet mix figures; the company reports aggregate loan interest income rather than revenue by individual product.[14]+2 [5]+17

Geographic presence

Cathay General Bancorp’s banking operations are concentrated in the United States, with Cathay Bank branches in Southern California (24) and Northern California (17), as well as New York State (9), Washington (4), Illinois (2), Texas (2), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (1), Nevada (1), and New Jersey (1). The bank also has one branch in Hong Kong. Its representative offices in Taipei, Beijing, and Shanghai are limited to document-transport coordination and liaison services.[1]

The company’s head office is in Los Angeles, California. Its described client markets include Southern and Northern California, New York City, Dallas and Houston, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Edison, Rockville, and Las Vegas, as well as Hong Kong.[16][17] The available geographic loan-market data is not a breakdown of revenue by region, and the cited reports do not provide employee distribution by location. [1]+2

Business segments

Cathay General Bancorp reports **one operating segment**, rather than separate reportable business or geographic segments. Its 2025 Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2025, states that the CEO is the chief operating decision maker and evaluates performance and allocates resources using consolidated net income. Accordingly, the single segment represents 100% of consolidated activity; the company does not disclose separate segment contribution percentages.[18]

That segment encompasses the company’s banking activities for businesses and consumers, including deposits and checking, commercial and commercial real-estate lending, residential and other consumer lending, payment processing, treasury management, and international banking and financing. These are product and service lines within the single segment, not separately reported segments.[19][20] [18]+2

Company history

Cathay Bank was incorporated in California in 1961 and began operations in Los Angeles Chinatown on April 19, 1962, founded to serve the Chinese American community. Its founders included John R. MacFaden, Lun Hong Quan, F. Chow Chan, Gerald T. Deal, George T.M. Ching, John F. Varela, and Dr. T.Y. Kwong. The bank opened its first branch outside Chinatown in Monterey Park in 1979, followed by a Hong Kong representative office in 1985 and a Taipei office in 1987.[21][22]

Cathay Bancorp went public on Nasdaq in 1990. It acquired First Public Savings Bank in 1996, then merged with GBC Bancorp in 2003; the combined holding company took the name Cathay General Bancorp, and General Bank merged into Cathay Bank. Further acquisitions expanded its footprint: Great Eastern Bank and New Asia Bancorp in 2006, followed by United Heritage Bank in 2007.[21]+3 [1]+5

Sources

• CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP — Full financial report (2026 Q 2)
  3 citations

  [1][2][17]
• CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP — Full financial report (2025 Y)
  10 citations

  [3][5][6][10][14][15][16][18][19][20]
• www.cathaybank.com[4]
• www.cathaybank.com[7]
• www.cathaybank.com[8]
• www.cathaybank.com[9]
• www.cathaybank.com[11]
• www.cathaybank.com[12]
• www.cathaybank.com[13]
• www.cathaygeneralbancorp.com[21]
• www.cathaybank.com[22]
• www.cathaygeneralbancorp.com[23]
• www.cathaygeneralbancorp.com[24]
• www.cathaygeneralbancorp.com[25]