10-Q, Member Exclusive

From Chinatown roots to SoCal’s focus: How East West Bank became SoCal’s largest publicly traded bank

  • We look at the story of how East West Bank came to be and evolved into the largest publicly traded bank headquartered in SoCal.
  • what has likely driven East West Bank’s growth from day one is its targeted focus on a niche demographic.
close

Email a Friend

From Chinatown roots to SoCal’s focus: How East West Bank became SoCal’s largest publicly traded bank

    The tale of how a group of Asian Americans chose to defy the norms in 1973


    When mainstream banks fall short of serving minority communities or immigrants, these groups often face prolonged struggles, waiting for more inclusive solutions or settling for the bare minimum. But in 1973, a group of Asian Americans decided to challenge the status quo. They sought to address these unmet financial needs and took a decisive stand to change this reality.

    Some of the founding figures of the East West Bank management; Image via EWB LinkedIn

    Building a bank from the ground up was a formidable challenge for this minority group. To overcome obstacles, they sought support from friends and allies within the Italian American community to become part of the founding organization, as the government policies at the time did not acknowledge Asian Americans as bank founders.

    This is the story of how East West Bank came to be, evolving into the largest publicly traded bank headquartered in Southern California, the 36th largest bank in the US by assets, and the biggest minority depository institution in the country today.


    subscription wall for TS Pro

    0 comments on “From Chinatown roots to SoCal’s focus: How East West Bank became SoCal’s largest publicly traded bank”

    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    ‘Payroll is one of the most direct and impactful entry points for embedded finance’: Green Dot’s Crystal Bryant-Minter on the firm’s embedded finance strategy

    • Green Dot's rapid! is wiring earned wage access and real-time payouts into Workday’s payroll and HCM systems.
    • Green Dot sees payroll and payouts not just as an end in themselves, but as the on-ramp to embedded finance at scale.
    Sara Khairi | September 15, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    What’s left in the shadows: The Oklahoma institution that grew by keeping its head down

    • In today’s 10Q edition: What’s left in the shadows, we shine a light on the less-talked-about publicly traded names in the industry that do their own thing but remain integral to the banking ecosystem.
    • One of these shadow giants is BOK Financial [BOKF]. Founded in 1910, this Oklahoma-born institution has spent more than a century weaving itself into the economic fabric of the Midwest and Southwest.
    Sara Khairi | September 08, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    Citizens sharpens its open banking edge with a new API design

    • Citizens Bank rebooted its open banking API this year, updating the framework for today’s needs.
    • Citizens’ Head of Product Management for Access & Delivery Channels unpacks the launch of the bank’s revamped open banking API framework and the problems it tackles.
    Sara Khairi | September 03, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    Chime, SoFi, Nubank: How three different roads are converging into one digital banking paradigm shift

    • The digital banking story in 2025 is a mix of triumph and tension. 
    • In 2024, talk in digital banking centered on neobanks facing higher rates, fading VC, and stiff competition. Mid-2025 shows the outcome: yes, but only a handful.
    Sara Khairi | August 25, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    How Coinbase is putting a crypto spin on old-school finance

    • Coinbase, once a Silicon Valley outsider pitching crypto as an alternative to the banking system, is now doing business with the very institutions it was supposed to 'disrupt'.
    • The roles are shifting: banks are moving closer to the chain, and Coinbase is evolving beyond being just a crypto trading platform.
    Sara Khairi | August 11, 2025
    More Articles