CATY

Cathay General Bancorp has rewarded shareholders with a strong multi year run, and the latest move higher now puts sharper focus on whether that price can still be explained by the bank's earnings power. With the stock around US$64.24 at the last close, the question is how well that market tag lines up with what the underlying profit stream actually supports. - The share price is up 109.1% over the past 3 years, which puts a lot of weight on the idea that Cathay General Bancorp's earnings profile can carry that kind of appreciation. - Recent results showing higher net income, growing loans and deposits, and a wider net interest margin suggest investors are now treating earnings sustainability and balance sheet strength as key inputs to what they are willing to pay. - Your read on Cathay General Bancorp is one view; the desks covering it have another. See what analysts think Cathay General Bancorp's shares could be worth. The stock's next move may depend on whether Cathay General Bancorp's current earnings are strong and durable enough to justify today's share price. If you are comparing Cathay General Bancorp's recent earnings driven run with other opportunities, it can help to line it up against 29 high quality undervalued stocks. The P/E ratio is a natural fit for Cathay General Bancorp because earnings remain the key anchor for how investors value regulated lenders. On this lens, the stock trades on about 11.6x earnings, which is a touch below both the Banks sector average of roughly 11.6x and the peer group near 12.5x. That slight gap points to a valuation that leans conservative rather than aggressive when measured purely on headline earnings. Because the current P/E sits close to the level suggested by a tailored fair multiple, which factors in Cathay General Bancorp's profitability, risk profile and size, the ratio on its own points to a price that is about right relative to those fundamentals. The stronger third quarter 2026 update, with higher net income and a wider net interest margin, comes with a P/E that still does not imply a large premium to sector or peer benchmarks, so any view on mispricing now rests on how dependable you think those earnings are. Explore the numbers behind Cathay General Bancorp's P/E valuation. Narratives takes the P/E puzzle for Cathay General Bancorp and turns it into a clear set of future conditions that would need to hold on growth, margins and earnings for the stock to look meaningfully mispriced either way, and they sit on Simply Wall St's Community page. They show the path behind any single valuation number by spelling out the earnings and balance sheet outcomes that figure relies on, so you can watch over time whether that story stays on track. One of the top community narratives on Cathay General Bancorp: 14% undervalued "Careful management of deposit costs, including reductions in interest-bearing deposit rates and a mix shift toward non-maturity deposits while time deposits flatten or decline…" Discover why this Narrative puts Cathay General Bancorp at 14% undervalued. All of this pins down what Cathay General Bancorp looks like today, but the real intrigue comes from where professional analysts think this bank could be a few years from now. Explore where analysts expect Cathay General Bancorp to be in a few years. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include CATY. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Cathay General Bancorp came into this Q3 2026 report with a stock that had been grinding higher, then the latest numbers lit a fire under it. The shares jumped 5.95% to US$64.24 in the first full trading reaction, which is a strong move for a regional bank. The headline is not the earnings per share. The real story is the bank's operating engine. Net interest margin, the spread it earns on lending, printed at 3.52% and the cost to income ratio came in at 35.9%. For a lender that markets itself on discipline and efficiency, those are the figures the price spike is reacting to. Love Cathay General Bancorp's tight net interest margin but want more options with similar efficiency metrics across the sector? Line it up against our list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks (26 results) - Total Revenue (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): US$226.0m vs. US$181.9m (up about 24%) - Net Income (Excl. Extra Items, Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): US$95.2m vs. US$77.7m (up about 23%) - Basic EPS (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): US$1.43 vs. US$1.13 (up about 27%) - Net Interest Margin (Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025): 3.52% vs. 3.31% (expanded by 0.21 percentage points) Prefer clean charts instead of another wall of bank earnings tables and ratios? Get a full visual read on Cathay General Bancorp's valuation story in an easy dashboard through the company report for Cathay General Bancorp. Bulls frame Cathay General Bancorp as a steady compounding machine that leans on balance sheet fine tuning and funding discipline rather than breakneck growth. "Bullish analysts expect Cathay General Bancorp to keep improving recurring earnings power through ongoing balance sheet optimization, disciplined deposit pricing, and measured loan growth within its relationship banking model." Q3 shows that script playing out. Net interest margin sits at 3.52%, within the targeted 3.40 to 3.50% band even after stripping out recoveries. Record US$211.9m net interest income, loan balances up US$575m, and deposit growth of US$773m all point to measured expansion with tight efficiency at a 35.9% cost to income ratio. The main bear worry is that expensive funding eventually clips that margin story. "The deposit markets in core geographies remain highly competitive and brokered certificates of deposit are already repricing toward higher rates. If Cathay General Bancorp needs to accept meaningfully higher funding costs to retain or grow deposits, net interest margin and overall profitability could fall short of expectations and weigh on earnings." This quarter does not show that squeeze biting yet. All deposit costs are 2.43%, while interest bearing deposits cost 2.91%. Noninterest bearing balances and money market inflows supported both funding and a 3.52% NIM, although management flags upcoming CD repricing and warns the noninterest bearing spike may not fully repeat. One Narrative disagrees with today's price. → See where this Narrative says Cathay General Bancorp should trade. Cathay General Bancorp recently highlighted how disciplined funding choices can affect a regional bank's share price in a single quarter. The real opportunity sits in finding stocks that could be undervalued before any valuation gap narrows. - Company 1 - 17% below our estimate - uses a swelling backlog of data center electrical projects to deepen ties with hyperscale builders while avoiding long term debt exposure. - Company 2 - 43% below our estimate - sells solar tracking and control hardware that project developers rely on as storage and inverter add ons support higher margin project packages. - Company 3 - 49% below our estimate - wins long dated mega contracts for complex public infrastructure as agencies shift more pre construction planning and project management to a single integrated contractor. Those are three of them. See the full list of 30 companies trading below our fair value estimates → This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include CATY. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. - Achieved record net interest income of $211.9 million, driven by active balance sheet management, robust loan growth, and effective asset repricing. - Expanded net interest margin by 4 basis points to 3.52% as higher loan yields successfully offset rising funding costs in a competitive environment. - Executed a $15.1 million securities repositioning loss to improve portfolio yield, which is expected to add approximately $2.9 million to annual net interest income. - Reduced non-performing assets by approximately 18% through the resolution of three previously identified borrower-specific credits, including two movie theater loans. - Optimized the funding structure by redeeming $54.1 million of trust preferred securities, providing a $3.1 million benefit and reducing future interest expense. - Strengthened the deposit base with a 3.7% increase, notably led by non-interest-bearing demand and money market balances, improving the loan-to-deposit ratio to 96%. - Raised full-year loan growth outlook to 5%-6% and deposit growth to 4%-5% based on strong year-to-date momentum, particularly in C&I lending. - Maintained full-year NIM outlook at 3.40%-3.50%, assuming two 25 basis point rate hikes in late 2026 to provide asset-side tailwinds. - Anticipates continued pressure on deposit costs due to industry-wide competition and the roll-off of $3.4 billion in CDs at lower-than-market rates. - Expects adjusted non-interest expense growth of 3.5%-4.5% for the year, focusing investments on frontline talent and client-facing technology. - Projects a normalized LIHTC amortization rate of $9 million to $10 million per quarter, subject to project performance and tax credit recognition timing. - Recognized a $36.1 million valuation gain on equity securities, significantly impacting reported non-interest income. - Incurred $5.4 million in contract termination costs related to a vendor agreement exit to facilitate a transition to a stronger technology platform. - Committed $8 million to the Cathay Bank Foundation to enhance community support and provide tax efficiency. - Net charge-offs of $25.3 million were concentrated in three specific credits: two acquired movie theater loans and one construction loan impacted by structural issues. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. - Management believes there is still room for NIM expansion, noting that $8.9 billion in loans are set to reprice over the next year. - While deposit costs rose 5 basis points this quarter, the bank expects the December rate hike to provide additional asset-side support. - Growth was driven by success in law firm practices and enhanced collaboration within the branch network to prioritize lower-cost funds. - Management cautioned that the $331 million quarterly growth in non-interest-bearing deposits may not be sustainable at that specific level. - C&I growth is broad-based across manufacturing, distribution, and food wholesalers, driven by client need rather than rate sensitivity. - Management remains conservative on Q4 growth as the period is historically flat, despite currently healthy pipelines. - Focus is shifting toward AI-based platforms to improve loan review efficiency and operational productivity for lending teams. - Future expense growth will be concentrated in salaries for frontline staff and client-facing technology upgrades.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026 - Investor Relations - Georgia Lo - President and Chief Executive Officer - Chang Liu - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer - Al Wang Operator: Today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay at www.cathaygeneralbancorp.com. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Georgia Lo, Investor Relations of Cathay General Bancorp. Please go ahead. Georgia Lo: Thank you, Asha, and good afternoon. Here to discuss the financial results today are Mr. Chang Liu, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and Al Wang, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, we wish to remind you that speakers on this call may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning future results and events, and that these statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These results and uncertainties are further described in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 at Item 1A in particular, and in other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. As such, we caution you not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements to reflect future circumstances, developments or events or the occurrence of unanticipated events. This afternoon, Cathay General Bancorp issued an earnings release outlining its third quarter 2026 results. To obtain a copy of our earnings release as well as our earnings presentation, please visit our website at cathaygeneralbancorp.com. After comments by management today, we will open up this call for questions. I will now turn the call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chang Liu. Chang Liu: Thank you, Georgia. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. We'll begin on slide 4. We delivered another strong quarter of operating performance highlighted by record net interest income, continued margin expansion, strong loan and deposit growth. Net income was $95.2 million or $1.43 per diluted share. Net interest income reached a record $211.9 million, increasing $11 million or 5.5% from the prior quarter. Active balance sheet management, loan growth, and asset repricing helped drive another 4 basis points of net interest margin expansion to 3.52%. Pre-provision net revenue was $151.3 million, up to $21.3 million or 16.4% from the prior quarter. Excluding the notable items in both periods, adjusted pre-provision net revenue was $140.6 million, up $11.7 million or 9.1%, reflecting stronger revenue growth relative to expenses. We generated strong loan and deposit growth during the quarter. Loans increased $575 million or 2.8% during the quarter, while deposits increased $773 million or 3.7%, led by growth in non-interest-bearing demand and money market balances. Credit results this quarter included elevated charge-offs in three previously identified borrower-specific credits. We have substantial reserves in place against these credits and took appropriate action during the quarter. As a result, non-performing assets declined approximately 18%. Criticized and classified balances also declined. Outside of these credits, the broader portfolio remains stable and overall credit quality remains sound. The quarter also included several notable items. We recognized a $36.1 million valuation gain on equity securities. We also recognized a $15.1 million loss related to another securities repositioning transaction. The repositioning improved the yield on the securities portfolio and is expected to add approximately $2.9 million to annual net interest income. To support the communities we serve and enhance tax efficiency, we committed $8 million to the Cathay Bank Foundation. We also incurred $5.4 million of contract termination costs to improve our operating model. Finally, during the quarter, we completed a planned redemption of $54.1 million of trust preferred securities. The redemption provided a $3.1 million benefit, simplified our funding structure, and reduced interest expense going forward. Overall, we are pleased with the underlying trends in the business, including strong relationship growth, improving net interest income, continued investment in the franchise, and a strong capital position. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Al Wang to walk through our third quarter results in more detail. I will provide some closing comments before we open up the call to Q&A. Al Wang: Thank you, Chang. I will start with our balance sheet on slide 5. Period-end loans, net of fees, were $21.2 billion, increasing approximately $573 million or 2.8% linked quarter, reflecting strong loan growth, particularly in C&I. On the deposit side, period-end balances rose approximately $773 million or 3.7% to $21.8 billion, led by non-interest-bearing demand and money market deposits. That growth helped fund our lending and improved our net loan-to-deposit ratio to approximately 96%. Tangible book value per share grew $0.61 to $40.54, even after this quarter's share repurchases. Slide 6 shows our average loan and deposit mix. Average loans were $20.5 billion, representing annualized growth of 5.9%. Average deposits reached $21.4 billion, representing annualized growth of 13.8%. Our CRE concentration ratio was 283%, remaining below both regulatory thresholds and our internal limits. Slide 7 summarizes our cash and available-for-sale securities portfolio. Cash and short-term investments increased this quarter, reflecting strong deposit growth and the timing of our balance sheet management activities. By contrast, the AFS securities portfolio declined modestly, reflecting a lower reinvestment rate and the impact of sharply higher market rates. During the quarter, we sold approximately $89 million of agency MBS, yielding 1.83%, and reinvested in agency MBS yielding 5.65%. The new securities have a similar average life and shorter duration, so we picked up yield without adding interest rate or credit risk. So far this year, we have repositioned approximately $460 million of securities through three transactions. Together, these transactions are expected to add approximately $11.4 million to annual net interest income, with an aggregate earn-back period of approximately 3.6 years. Our securities portfolio remains highly liquid and defensively positioned. Effective duration is approximately 2.1 years, and 61% of projected cash flows are expected to return through 2027. That limits our duration exposure and gives us substantial near-term capacity to reinvest in a higher rate environment. Moving to slide 8. Net income increased 3.2% linked quarter to $95.2 million. Record net interest income and higher non-interest income supported the increase. Higher provision expense and non-interest expense offset part of that benefit. On slide 9, I will walk through the yields and funding costs. Net interest income increased $11 million to a record $211.9 million, driven by loan growth, day count, and continued margin expansion. Net interest margin increased 4 basis points to 3.52%, as higher loan yields more than offset the increase in funding costs. Loan yields increased 5 basis points to 6.02%, reflecting higher rates, as well as interest recoveries and prepayment penalties. That benefit was partially offset by higher funding costs. Total deposit costs rose 4 basis points to 2.43%, and interest-bearing deposit costs rose 5 basis points to 2.91%. Overall, we continue to see positive momentum in net interest income, supported by balance sheet growth and asset repricing. Moving to slide 10, non-interest income increased to $42.8 million, driven mainly by the notable items Chang mentioned earlier. These included $36.1 million unrealized gain on equity securities and a $3.1 million benefit from the trust preferred redemption. Those gains were partially offset by the $15.1 million repositioning loss. Excluding these items, adjusted non-interest income was $18.8 million, down slightly from last quarter, mainly due to lower wealth management fees. Moving to slide 11, non-interest expense increased to $103.4 million from $92.3 million last quarter. The increase was primarily driven by the two other notable items Chang mentioned earlier. We committed $8 million to the Cathay Bank Foundation to support those communities we serve while also providing a tax benefit. We also incurred $5.4 million of contract termination costs as we made changes to improve our operating model. Outside of those items, compensation and benefits increased by $1.5 million, partially offset by approximately $3.4 million of lower tax credit investment amortization. Excluding those notable items, adjusted non-interest expense was $82.9 million, up approximately 1.2% from the prior quarter. With only modest growth in underlying expenses, strong revenue growth further drove improvement to our efficiency ratios. Our reported efficiency ratio improved to 40.6%, while our adjusted efficiency ratio, excluding the notable items, improved to 35.9%. Turning to slide 12, the allowance for loan loss increased approximately $5 million to $224 million, while the allowance ratio remained relatively stable at 1.06% of gross loans. The provision for credit loss was $28.6 million this quarter, primarily reflecting strong loan growth and updated loss assumptions incorporating recent charge-off experience. Net charge-off increased to $25.3 million or 49 basis points annualized. These charge-offs were concentrated in the three previously identified credits. They included one fully reserved construction loan and two movie theater CRE loans acquired through the Far East National Bank acquisition. We previously provisioned $9.1 million for those two movie theater loans in the third quarter of 2025. Classified balances and non-performing assets declined during the quarter, largely reflecting the charge-offs. Beyond those credits, broader portfolio trends remained generally stable and overall credit quality remained sound. Turning to slide 13, capital ratios declined modestly, reflecting strong loan growth and share repurchases, while the redemption of our trust preferred securities reduced total risk-based capital. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 801,000 shares for $50.3 million at an average price of approximately $62.81 per share. Even with those impacts, our capital position remains strong. We ended the quarter with a CET1 ratio of 13.51% and total risk-based capital ratio of 15%, both well above regulatory minimum requirements. I'll wrap up on slide 14 with our full-year outlook. Based on our strong year-to-date loan growth, we are raising our full-year outlook to 5%-6% from 3.5%-4.5% previously. We are also increasing our deposit growth outlook to 4%-5%, compared with the prior expectation of 3%-4%. We continue to expect adjusted non-interest expense growth of 3.5%-4.5% for the year. Our full-year NIM outlook remains at 3.40%-3.50%. Our rate outlook now assumes two 25 basis points increases during 2026, including the September increase and another increase in December. Finally, we now expect our full-year effective tax rate to be between 21.5% and 22.5%. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Chang. Chang Liu: Thank you, Al. We are pleased with our performance through the first nine months, including strong balance sheet growth, record net interest income, and continued margin expansion. That momentum is reflected in the higher full-year loan and deposit growth outlooks we announced today. During the quarter, we took several proactive steps to support our communities, improve our earnings profile, and optimize our funding and capital structure while continuing to support organic growth. We believe these actions leave us well-positioned as we move forward. Looking ahead, our priorities remain straightforward: disciplined relationship growth, sound credit quality, and prudent capital management. With that, we can now open it up for questions. Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, if you have a question at this time, please press the star key followed by one on your touchtone telephone. We ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up question. You may then return to the queue. If your question has been answered and you wish to remove yourself from the queue, please press star then two. To prevent any background noise, we ask that you please place yourself on mute once your question has been stated. Your first question comes from David Chiaverini with Jefferies. Please go ahead. David Chiaverini: Hi. Thanks for taking the questions. Wanted to start on the net interest margin. Very nice trend here over the past several quarters. Looking at the guide range being unchanged seems to be conservative, but can you talk about how we should think about the NIM into the fourth quarter and then maybe layer into that your rate sensitivity and how rate hikes could impact the forward look on NIM? Al Wang: Yeah. I am not ready to call a peak on NIM. I still think there is room for expansion. We do have in the guide a 25 basis point increase in December, which will help us from the asset side. We have, I would say on the asset side, over the next year, we have $8.9 billion of loans repricing. Obviously, we have a billion-plus of cash and a large part of our investment portfolio, half of which are in treasury. We will get some tailwind from the asset side. On the deposit side, I would say that we do have some headwinds with we have $3.4 billion of CDs rolling off this quarter at a rate of 3.46. As you might know, we ran a summer CD promo, for example, at 3.65 and 3.85 for six and 12 months respectively. Just with those data points, there is going to be some more pressure. You saw some pressure on deposit costs just this quarter. It went up about 5 basis points. We expect the pressure to continue with competition, and that is not just for us, but across the industry. But we feel pretty confident that we still have room to expand. If I look at, for example, the margin in the month of September, ex prepayments and recoveries, I mean, we were just for that month at 3.53. I think we will probably be at the upper end of the range. But remember, that is a full year range. I think we are pretty confident, at least in the near term, with where we will be in terms of margin. David Chiaverini: Great. Thanks for that. My follow-up is on the deposit side, non-interest-bearing deposits. Up nicely year-over-year. What is driving this strong growth, and how do the pipelines look? Could this momentum continue? Al Wang: I think the team did a really nice job this quarter. I mean, we grew non-interest bearing $331 million in 1 quarter. I would probably say that is not sustainable. I would not kind of bake that in into the forward guide, but it is an area of focus for us in the branch network. I do not know, Chang, if you want to- Chang Liu: Yeah, so I will add to that a little bit. I think some of the law firm practice that we have, that is adding good sort of much lower cost deposits to our sort of liability side. I think our communication and sort of collaboration with the branches is a lot stronger now, where they know the direction going forward is to really bringing lower cost of funds. The CD campaign, while it is at 3.65, 3.85, you know for a fact that is not at the top of the market. While that is a tool for them to kind of defend the CD base, at the same time, they are also using that to bring in other type of deposits that is going to help to contribute that lower cost end of the balance. David Chiaverini: Very helpful. Thank you. Al Wang: Okay. Operator: The next question comes from Gary Tenner with D.A. Davidson. Please go ahead. Gary Tenner: Thanks. Good afternoon. Wanted to ask about loan growth. The guide was increased at 5%-6%, but that kind of full year guide seems to suggest fourth quarter growth could be anywhere from kind of flat to up 3%. Could you talk about that a little bit? Are you seeing any specific slowdown? Is it just where the pipelines are, any impact of interest rates, et cetera, that maybe is having you lean conservative for the fourth quarter? Chang Liu: Gary, the way we're thinking about it is I think we saw the biggest growth in Q2 and Q3. Our Q1 was pretty flat. Q4 historically has been flat based on my experience. Although we're seeing some pretty good pipelines so far. C&I has been kind of the driver of that growth, and we see that in a sort of just a broad base different type of industries, whether it's sort of the manufacturing, distribution, and the service providers. We're continuing to kind of expect some of that to pull through, but it's harder for us to say how much of that is really going to be a significant growth event for Q4. I think we're comfortable with the revised guide that we issued today. Gary Tenner: Okay. Appreciate that. Then just in terms of the LIHTC amortization fourth quarter, what do you expect that number to be? Al Wang: Yeah. This quarter obviously came in a little bit below expectations and kind of what I was guided to. It was mainly due to timing and kind of updates to prior estimates. Q3 had some true-ups that came in during the quarter, and we also got a small amount of solar investment distributions on investments where our basis was zero or fully amortized. So those were recorded against amortization expense. I am expecting kind of more of the $9 million-$10 million per quarter. Obviously, as you know, that can vary quarter to quarter, and it depends on the financials that we get relative to project performance and tax credit recognition. Gary Tenner: Got it. Thank you. Operator: Once again, if you have a question, please press star, then one. The next question comes from Andrew Terrell with Stephens. Please go ahead. Andrew Terrell: Hey, good afternoon. Chang Liu: Andrew. Andrew Terrell: Could you talk a little bit more about just the contract termination that took place this quarter, just how that plays into operating expenses moving forward, and then just more broadly, any kind of areas you're looking to get efficiency out of, and how does that play into just kind of how you think about expense growth from here? Al Wang: Yeah. I would say that contract termination fee, we noted it as kind of a notable item because it is kind of more of a one-time type of charge. It really wasn't an expense savings play per se. It was really more a vendor agreement for one of our lines of business that we plan to upgrade because another vendor we're looking at we think has kind of a stronger platform and tech platform. We're hoping that obviously it's going to generate revenue growth for us in the future. Hope that any. I don't know, Chang, if you want to weigh in. Andrew Terrell: Yeah. Al Wang: That's it. Andrew Terrell: No, that's great. Al Wang: Go ahead. Andrew Terrell: If I could just follow up on the margin quickly as well. I might have missed it. Do you have the dollar amount or the basis point impact of the interest recovery in loan yields this quarter? Al Wang: Yeah. Most of it was recoveries and not prepayment penalties, but it was about $3.7 million-$3.8 million of recoveries. It was about 6 basis points for the quarter. So core NIM would've been around 3.46%. Andrew Terrell: Got it. Okay. That's it for me. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Matthew Clark with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead. Matthew Clark: Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for the questions. On the net charge-offs this quarter, can you just isolate how much of the net charge-offs were tied to those three credits that were previously reserved against? Chang Liu: Sure. Matthew Clark: I guess I'm just trying to get a- Chang Liu: So- Matthew Clark: I'm getting trying to. Yeah, go ahead. Chang Liu: Yeah. Sorry. Those two theater loans from the Far East National Bank acquisition, those two totaled about 18. And we had one particular construction loan that had problems with water damage and mold contamination and leading to structural issues. That is also something that is kind of unforeseen for us. It was a multifamily product. It was here in SoCal, and that is about almost a $9 million exposure. Matthew Clark: Okay. Got it. Thank you. Just on, maybe I can do a combo here. Do you have the spot rate on deposits at the end of September and then your appetite to continue to buy back stock here? A nice step up here in 3Q. Al Wang: Yeah. The September kind of interest rate deposit cost for interest-bearing was like 2.92%. All in, it was 2.43%, obviously helping with the growth in non-interest bearing. We are, in terms of buybacks, obviously, the same caveats always apply relative to kind of the market loan growth and kind of the outlook. But we are pretty comfortable with kind of how the buybacks from this past quarter. We think the stock is still attractively priced, and the earn-back period is very acceptable to us. That is kind of where we are with the buybacks. Hopefully, that helps answer your question. Matthew Clark: Yep. That is great. Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Kelly Motta with KBW. Please go ahead. Kelly Motta: Hi. Thank you so much for the question. I'd like to take it back to loan growth. Commercial in particular has been incredibly strong all year and especially in Q3. Just wondering if you could provide additional color as to the drivers of that and if you're seeing. It sounds like there's still a decent outlook here, but if higher rates are impacting borrower behavior at this point. Thank you. Chang Liu: Sure, Kelly. We're still seeing just the stronger loan growth on the C&I side. The industries that we serve in the manufacturing side, the distribution side, some of them there are sort of the wholesalers in the food business. Their business is doing well. In terms of the sort of the rate higher for longer, I talked to my C&I folks in the lender side. That's really a need base and a value proposition. If they need the loan and they need the lines, they're going to continue to use it regardless of the rate environment. I think the higher rate environment may hit the CRE demand a little bit more. And even on the CRE side, that's going to hit maybe the purchases side a little bit more. On the refi, in the last few months of the quarter, we saw a little bit of activity in sort of cash-out refi and still within our credit parameters. But when there's a cash-out refi or maturity refi, then they still have to do those. And for the C&I side, I think it's really just on a need basis and what kind of value we can provide to the new prospects and the new clients that come into our bank as well. Kelly Motta: Got it. That's helpful. Somebody touched on this earlier, but just to close the loop on the non-interest-bearing deposit growth. Clearly you're working very hard at that, and the results are showing through. If I look at it a spot basis, they were up much more meaningfully than where the average balances are. I'm just wondering, as I'm thinking about just near term modeling, if there was any kind of larger, chunkier flows in Q3 that I should be cognizant of when thinking through what to a jumping off point for average balances. Thanks. Al Wang: Yeah. I think generally it was broad based across the board. But I think at the end of the quarter there were some larger deposit inflows at the end in September. But I'd have to go back and look at kind of the month-over-month. Kelly Motta: Got it. That's helpful. Maybe last question for me is just on the expenses. You've done a really nice job with holding and growing margin and while growing the balance sheet. I know it's a little early to start thinking about next year, but as you think ahead, what are the strategic priorities in terms of investments and your ability to continue to drive what's been really nice positive operating leverage now for the past couple of years? Thanks. Chang Liu: Maybe I'll start and Al can certainly chime in. I think strategically we got to think about where we need to invest, right? I think we need to invest in our people on some of the front line, whether it's the lending side or the deposit side. That's where you can kind of see the investment and sort of a return on that investment. Additionally, sort of the technology front and any tech that's kind of client facing, including anything that's operationally with AI and efficiencies we can gain out of AI. Some of the things we're using here with, for example, some of the AI-based platforms that's available to us, we're already seeing some increases in how the lending teams are either running their product or their book and their loan reviews and those kind of things. So we're seeing some efficiencies there. That's where really our focus should be. Long term, some of the expenses, we're not prepared to give you the guide for 2027, but still going to be sort of the salaries and the tech investment side that you're going to see the bulk of it. Kelly Motta: Awesome. I'll step back. Thank you so much. Chang Liu: Thanks. Al Wang: Thanks. Operator: Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Andrew Liesch with StoneX. Please go ahead. Andrew Liesch: Everyone, good afternoon. Most of my questions have been answered, but just wanted to circle back to the fee income side, non-interest income. The decline in wealth management revenue, just curious what might have been driving that. Al Wang: Yeah, it was transaction based volume. There was nothing kind of significant or unusual. I'd say you can see over the trend over the last several quarters, particularly since our new leader came in for that business. Revenues have been very strong. So we're expecting kind of a tick up. Maybe not back to the Q2 level, but we think that there'll be a tick up next quarter. Andrew Liesch: Got it. Yep, just looking through the rest of it, you've covered everything else. I'll step back. Thanks. Al Wang: Yeah, thanks. Operator: Thank you for your participation. I will now turn the call back over to Cathay General Bancorp's management for closing remarks. Please go ahead. Chang Liu: I want to thank everyone for joining us and for your interest in Cathay Bank. We look forward to speaking with you at our next quarterly earnings release call. Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation in today's conference. This concludes the presentation. You may now disconnect. Good day. Before you buy stock in Cathay General Bancorp, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Cathay General Bancorp wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $370,440!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,330,110!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 924% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 212% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of October 21, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

- Interested in Cathay General Bancorp? Here are five stocks we like better. - Strong operating performance: Cathay General Bancorp reported $95.2 million in third-quarter net income, while record net interest income rose 5.5% to $211.9 million and net interest margin expanded to 3.52%. - Growth outlook raised: Loans increased 2.8% and deposits grew 3.7%, led by commercial and industrial lending and stronger demand deposits. Management raised its full-year loan growth forecast to 5%–6% and deposit growth outlook to 4%–5%. - Credit costs and funding pressures remain: Provision expense reached $28.6 million, with charge-offs concentrated in three previously identified loans, while deposit competition and $3.4 billion of certificates of deposit rolling over could pressure funding costs. The company also repurchased approximately 801,000 shares for $50.3 million. - Regional Bank Buybacks: 5 Institutions Making Big Moves Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $95.2 million, or $1.43 per diluted share, as record net interest income, loan growth and margin expansion helped offset higher credit costs and operating expenses. President and Chief Executive Officer Chang Liu said the company's operating performance during the quarter was supported by "active balance sheet management, loan growth, and asset repricing." Net interest income rose $11 million, or 5.5% from the prior quarter, to a record $211.9 million. Net interest margin expanded by 4 basis points to 3.52%. → The AI Sell-Off Continues—These 3 Stocks Keep Raising Guidance Anyway Pre-provision net revenue totaled $151.3 million, up 16.4% on a linked-quarter basis. Excluding notable items, adjusted pre-provision net revenue was $140.6 million, an increase of $11.7 million, or 9.1%. Period-end loans, net of fees, reached $21.2 billion, increasing approximately $573 million, or 2.8%, from the prior quarter. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Al Wang said growth was particularly strong in commercial and industrial lending. → Tesla's Roadster Reveal Hints at 2 Much Bigger Moves Period-end deposits rose $773 million, or 3.7%, to $21.8 billion. The increase was led by non-interest-bearing demand deposits and money market balances, helping improve the company's net loan-to-deposit ratio to approximately 96%. Average loans grew at an annualized rate of 5.9% to $20.5 billion, while average deposits increased at an annualized rate of 13.8% to $21.4 billion. The company's commercial real estate concentration ratio stood at 283%, below both regulatory thresholds and its internal limits. → Luxury's Middle Market Is Cracking—These 3 Stocks Could Win Management raised its full-year loan growth outlook to 5% to 6%, from a previous range of 3.5% to 4.5%. Its deposit growth outlook was raised to 4% to 5%, compared with an earlier forecast of 3% to 4%. Liu said C&I lending had been the primary driver of recent growth, with activity spanning manufacturing, distribution, service providers and food wholesalers. He said customer borrowing in C&I is generally need-based, while higher rates may have a greater effect on commercial real estate demand, particularly property purchases. Loan yields increased 5 basis points during the quarter to 6.02%, aided by higher rates, interest recoveries and prepayment penalties. Total deposit costs rose 4 basis points to 2.43%, while interest-bearing deposit costs increased 5 basis points to 2.91%. Wang said the company was not ready to call a peak in net interest margin, pointing to $8.9 billion of loans expected to reprice over the next year, as well as cash and investment portfolio repricing opportunities. He added that the outlook includes a 25-basis-point rate increase in December. However, Wang said funding costs could remain under pressure amid deposit competition. About $3.4 billion of certificates of deposit were set to roll off during the fourth quarter at an average rate of 3.46%. Management maintained its full-year net interest margin outlook of 3.40% to 3.50%. Wang said that excluding loan prepayments and recoveries, the company's September margin was about 3.53%. Interest recoveries totaled roughly $3.7 million to $3.8 million during the quarter and added about 6 basis points to margin, he said. During the quarter, Cathay sold approximately $89 million of agency mortgage-backed securities yielding 1.83% and reinvested in agency MBS yielding 5.65%. The newly acquired securities have similar average lives and shorter duration, according to Wang. The transaction generated a $15.1 million loss but is expected to add approximately $2.9 million to annual net interest income. Year to date, the company has repositioned about $460 million of securities in three transactions, which management expects will add $11.4 million in annual net interest income with an aggregate earn-back period of about 3.6 years. Non-interest income increased to $42.8 million, primarily reflecting a $36.1 million unrealized valuation gain on equity securities and a $3.1 million benefit from the redemption of trust preferred securities. Adjusted non-interest income was $18.8 million, slightly lower than the prior quarter due mainly to reduced wealth management fees. Wang said the decrease reflected transaction-based volume and that the company expects wealth management revenue to rise in the next quarter. Non-interest expense rose to $103.4 million from $92.3 million in the second quarter. The increase included an $8 million commitment to the Cathay Bank Foundation and $5.4 million in contract termination costs. Wang characterized the contract cost as a one-time charge related to replacing a vendor platform for one line of business, with the new platform expected to support future revenue growth. Excluding notable items, adjusted non-interest expense was $82.9 million, up 1.2% from the previous quarter. The reported efficiency ratio improved to 40.6%, while the adjusted efficiency ratio improved to 35.9%. The provision for credit losses was $28.6 million, reflecting loan growth and updated loss assumptions based on recent charge-off experience. Net charge-offs were $25.3 million, or 49 basis points annualized. Management said the charge-offs were concentrated in three previously identified credits: two movie theater commercial real estate loans acquired through the Far East National Bank acquisition, totaling about $18 million, and a Southern California multifamily construction loan with nearly $9 million of exposure. Liu said the construction loan experienced water damage, mold contamination and resulting structural issues. The allowance for loan losses increased approximately $5 million to $224 million, while the allowance ratio remained at 1.06% of gross loans. Non-performing assets declined approximately 18%, while criticized and classified balances also decreased, largely because of the charge-offs. Management said broader portfolio trends remained stable. The company repurchased about 801,000 shares for $50.3 million during the quarter, at an average price of $62.81 per share. It ended the period with a common equity tier 1 ratio of 13.51% and a total risk-based capital ratio of 15%. Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions, with a particular focus on serving the Chinese American and broader communities in the markets where it operates. Cathay Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial lending, small-business financing, consumer loans, treasury management and other traditional banking services. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Cathay General Bancorp Q3 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for October 2026.

LOS ANGELES, October 21, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cathay General Bancorp (the "Company", "we", "us", or "our") (Nasdaq: CATY), the holding company for Cathay Bank, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. The Company reported net income of $95.2 million, or $1.43 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2026 compared to $92.2 million, or $1.37 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2026. "Our third quarter results reflected strong performance across the franchise. Net interest income grew, loans and deposits increased meaningfully, and net interest margin continued to expand," said Chang M. Liu, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "We remain focused on disciplined execution and prudent balance sheet management to build on this progress and continue delivering long-term value for our shareholders." THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS | | Three months ended (unaudited) | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 Net income | | $95.2 million | | $92.2 million | | $77.7 million Basic earnings per common share | | $1.43 | | | $1.38 | | | $1.13 | Diluted earnings per common share | | $1.43 | | | $1.37 | | | $1.13 | Return on average assets | | 1.51 | % | | 1.52 | % | | 1.29 | % Return on average total stockholders' equity | | 12.28 | % | | 12.21 | % | | 10.60 | % Efficiency ratio | | 40.60 | % | | 41.53 | % | | 41.84 | % - Record net interest income of $211.9 million, an increase of $11.0 million, or 5.5%, from the second quarter of 2026. - Net interest margin expanded four basis points to 3.52% from 3.48% in the second quarter of 2026. - Total loans, excluding loans held for sale, increased $574.5 million, or 2.79% sequentially to $21.20 billion, representing approximately 11.4% annualized growth. - Total deposits increased $773.3 million, or 3.67%, sequentially to $21.83 billion, supporting strong loan growth and strategic balance sheet positioning. - Nonperforming assets declined $26.2 million, or 18.0%, and the ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets improved to 0.47% from 0.59%. - The provision for credit losses was $28.6 million, primarily reflecting strong loan growth and updated loss assumptions incorporating recent charge-off experience. - The Company completed the redemption of $54.1 million of Trust Preferred Securities ("TruPS"), representing approximately 45% of the Company's $119.1 million of outstanding TruPS. INCOME STATEMENT REVIEW THIRD QUARTER 2026 COMPARED TO THE SECOND QUARTER 2026 Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, was $95.2 million, an increase of $3.0 million, or 3.3%, compared to net income of $92.2 million for the second quarter of 2026. Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2026 was $1.43 per share compared to $1.37 per share for the second quarter of 2026. Return on average stockholders' equity was 12.28% and return on average assets was 1.51% for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared to a return on average stockholders' equity of 12.21% and a return on average assets of 1.52% in the second quarter of 2026. Net interest income before provision for credit losses Net interest income before provision for credit losses increased $11.0 million, or 5.5%, to $211.9 million during the third quarter of 2026, compared to $200.9 million in the second quarter of 2026. The increase was due primarily to an increase in interest income from loans and deposits with banks and partially offset by an increase in deposit interest expense. The net interest margin was 3.52% for the third quarter of 2026 compared to 3.48% for the second quarter of 2026. For the third quarter of 2026, the yield on average interest-earning assets was 5.74%, the cost of funds on average interest-bearing liabilities was 2.93%, and the cost of average interest-bearing deposits was 2.91%. In comparison, for the second quarter of 2026, the yield on average interest-earning assets was 5.66%, the cost of funds on average interest-bearing liabilities was 2.89%, and the cost of average interest-bearing deposits was 2.86%. The increase in the cost of funds on average interest-bearing liabilities resulted mainly from higher interest rates on deposits, driven by the higher repricing of maturing time deposits in the third quarter. The increase in the yield on average interest-earning assets resulted mainly from higher interest rates on loans. The net interest spread, defined as the difference between the yield on average interest-earning assets and the cost of funds on average interest-bearing liabilities, was 2.81% for the third quarter of 2026, compared to 2.77% for the second quarter of 2026. Provision for credit losses The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $28.6 million in the third quarter of 2026 compared to $11.2 million in the second quarter of 2026. The higher provision primarily reflected strong loan growth and updated loss assumptions incorporating recent charge-off experience. Nonperforming assets declined $26.2 million, or 18.0%, during the quarter, and the ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets improved to 0.47% from 0.59%. As of September 30, 2026, the allowance for loan losses increased by $5.3 million to $224.2 million, or 1.06% of gross loans, compared to $218.9 million, or 1.06% of gross loans as of June 30, 2026. Net charge-offs of $25.3 million, or 0.48% of average loans on an annualized basis, were concentrated in three borrower-specific credits, including one construction loan and two movie theater CRE loans acquired from Far East National Bank. The following table sets forth the charge-offs and recoveries for the periods indicated: | | Three months ended | | Nine months ended September 30, | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 | | (In thousands) (Unaudited) Charge-offs: | | | | | | | | | | Commercial loans | | $ | 261 | | | $ | 2,743 | | | $ | 16,173 | | | $ | 10,975 | | | $ | 27,634 | Construction loans | | | 8,810 | | | | — | | | | — | | | | 8,810 | | | | — | Real estate loans (1) | | | 17,876 | | | | — | | | | 314 | | | | 19,261 | | | | 4,227 | Total charge-offs | | | 26,947 | | | | 2,743 | | | | 16,487 | | | | 39,046 | | | | 31,861 | Recoveries: | | | | | | | | | | Commercial loans | | | 1,660 | | | | 853 | | | | 547 | | | | 7,444 | | | | 1,012 | Construction loans | | | — | | | | — | | | | 5 | | | | — | | | | 6 | Real estate loans (1) | | | — | | | | 42 | | | | 289 | | | | 2,344 | | | | 479 | Total recoveries | | | 1,660 | | | | 895 | | | | 841 | | | | 9,788 | | | | 1,497 | Net charge-offs | | $ | 25,287 | | | $ | 1,848 | | | $ | 15,646 | | | $ | 29,258 | | | $ | 30,364 | (1) | | Real estate loans include commercial real estate loans, residential mortgage loans and equity lines. Non-interest income Non-interest income, which includes revenues from depository service fees, letters of credit commissions, securities gains (losses), wealth management fees, and other sources of fee income, was $42.8 million for the third quarter of 2026, an increase of $21.4 million, or 99.8%, compared to $21.4 million for the second quarter of 2026. The increase was primarily driven by a $24.4 million increase in net gains from equity securities and a $3.1 million benefit from the redemption of TruPS, partially offset by a $4.5 million increase in losses related to investment securities repositioning activities and a $1.3 million decrease in wealth management fees. Non-interest expense Non-interest expense increased $11.1 million, or 12.0%, to $103.4 million in the third quarter of 2026 compared to $92.3 million in the second quarter of 2026. The increase was primarily attributable to an $8.0 million charitable contribution to the Cathay Bank Foundation, a $5.4 million contract termination fee, and a $1.5 million increase in salaries and employee benefits, partially offset by a $3.4 million decrease in the amortization of investments in low-income housing and alternative energy partnerships. The efficiency ratio, defined as non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income before provision for credit losses plus non-interest income, was 40.60% in the third quarter of 2026 compared to 41.53% for the second quarter of 2026. Income taxes The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2026 was 22.42% compared to 22.35% for the second quarter of 2026, primarily due to the higher pre-tax income in the third quarter of 2026. The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2026 and second quarter of 2026 includes the impact of low-income housing tax credits. BALANCE SHEET REVIEW Gross loans, excluding loans held for sale, increased $574.5 million, or 2.79%, to $21.20 billion as of September 30, 2026, from $20.62 billion as of June 30, 2026. The increase was primarily due to increases of $420.4 million, or 11.9%, in commercial loans; $73.3 million, or 1.3%, in residential real estate loans; $65.5 million, or 0.6%, in commercial real estate loans; and $17.5 million, or 7.0%, in construction loans, partially offset by a decrease of $6.4 million, or 2.7%, in equity lines. The loan balances and composition as of September 30, 2026, compared to June 30, 2026, and September 30, 2025, are presented below: | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | (In thousands) (Unaudited) Commercial loans | | $ | 3,945,390 | | | $ | 3,524,945 | | | $ | 3,212,907 | Construction loans | | | 265,880 | | | | 248,375 | | | | 356,215 | Commercial real estate loans | | | 10,844,794 | | | | 10,779,326 | | | | 10,484,939 | Residential mortgage loans | | | 5,905,416 | | | | 5,832,159 | | | | 5,815,140 | Equity lines | | | 227,831 | | | | 234,265 | | | | 232,254 | Installment and other loans | | | 6,550 | | | | 2,262 | | | | 3,261 | Gross loans | | $ | 21,195,861 | | | $ | 20,621,332 | | | $ | 20,104,716 | | | | | | | Allowance for loan losses | | | (224,190 | ) | | | (218,896 | ) | | | (186,647 | ) Unamortized deferred loan fees | | | (15,523 | ) | | | (14,606 | ) | | | (14,987 | ) Total loans held for investment, net | | $ | 20,956,148 | | | $ | 20,387,830 | | | $ | 19,903,082 | | | | | | | Loans held for sale | | $ | 13,597 | | | $ | — | | | $ | — | Total deposits were $21.83 billion as of September 30, 2026, an increase of $773.3 million, or 3.67%, from $21.06 billion as of June 30, 2026. The deposit balances and composition as of September 30, 2026, compared to June 30, 2026, and September 30, 2025, are presented below: | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | (In thousands) (Unaudited) Non-interest-bearing demand deposits | | $ | 3,950,436 | | | $ | 3,567,527 | | | $ | 3,574,567 | NOW deposits | | | 2,634,247 | | | | 2,612,011 | | | | 2,226,182 | Money market deposits | | | 4,284,484 | | | | 3,894,594 | | | | 3,586,301 | Savings deposits | | | 1,517,383 | | | | 1,421,969 | | | | 1,424,243 | Time deposits | | | 9,448,438 | | | | 9,565,547 | | | | 9,709,856 | Total deposits | | $ | 21,834,988 | | | $ | 21,061,648 | | | $ | 20,521,149 | ASSET QUALITY REVIEW As of September 30, 2026, total non-accrual loans were $87.3 million, a decrease of $24.4 million, or 21.8%, from $111.7 million as of June 30, 2026. The allowance for loan losses was $224.2 million and the allowance for off-balance sheet unfunded credit commitments was $12.9 million as of September 30, 2026. Together, these allowances represent the amount estimated by management to be appropriate to absorb expected credit losses inherent in the loan portfolio, including unfunded credit commitments. The allowance for loan losses represented 1.06% of period-end gross loans, and 242.97% of non-performing loans as of September 30, 2026. The comparable ratios were 1.06% of period-end gross loans, and 195.97% of non-performing loans as of June 30, 2026. The changes in non-performing assets as of September 30, 2026, compared to June 30, 2026, and September 30, 2025, are presented below: (In thousands) (Unaudited) | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | % Change | | September 30, 2025 | | % Change Non-performing assets | | | | | | | | | | Accruing loans past due 90 days or more | | $ | 4,994 | | | $ | — | | | 100 | | | $ | 110 | | | 4,440 | | | | | | | | | | | Non-accrual loans: | | | | | | | | | | Commercial real estate loans | | | 47,246 | | | | 70,157 | | | (33 | ) | | | 103,158 | | | (54 | ) Commercial loans | | | 7,188 | | | | 8,448 | | | (15 | ) | | | 33,690 | | | (79 | ) Residential mortgage loans | | | 32,844 | | | | 33,091 | | | (1 | ) | | | 28,784 | | | 14 | Total non-accrual loans: | | $ | 87,278 | | | $ | 111,696 | | | (22 | ) | | $ | 165,632 | | | (47 | ) Total non-performing loans | | | 92,272 | | | | 111,696 | | | (17 | ) | | | 165,742 | | | (44 | ) Other real estate owned | | | 26,910 | | | | 33,659 | | | (20 | ) | | | 32,983 | | | (18 | ) Total non-performing assets | | $ | 119,182 | | | $ | 145,355 | | | (18 | ) | | $ | 198,725 | | | (40 | ) | | | | | | | | | | | Allowance for loan losses | | $ | 224,190 | | | $ | 218,896 | | | 2 | | | $ | 186,647 | | | 20 | Allowance for off-balance sheet credit commitments | | $ | 12,938 | | | $ | 14,918 | | | (13 | ) | | $ | 9,860 | | | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | | Total gross loans outstanding, at period-end | | $ | 21,195,861 | | | $ | 20,621,332 | | | 3 | | | $ | 20,104,716 | | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | Allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans, at period-end | | | 242.97 | % | | | 195.97 | % | | | | | 112.61 | % | | Allowance for loan losses to gross loans, at period-end | | | 1.06 | % | | | 1.06 | % | | | | | 0.93 | % | | The ratio of non-performing assets to total assets decreased to 0.47% as of September 30, 2026, from 0.59% as of June 30, 2026. Total non-performing assets decreased $26.2 million, or 18.0%, to $119.2 million as of September 30, 2026, from $145.4 million as of June 30, 2026. The decrease was primarily due to decreases of $24.4 million, or 21.8%, in non-accrual loans and $6.7 million, or 20.1%, in other real estate owned, partially offset by an increase of $5.0 million, or 100.0%, in accruing loans past due 90 days or more. CAPITAL ADEQUACY REVIEW As of September 30, 2026, the Company's Common Equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 13.51%, Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 13.51%, total risk-based capital ratio of 15.00%, and Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 11.06%, calculated under the Basel III capital rules, exceeded applicable minimum regulatory capital requirements, including the fully phased-in 2.5% capital conservation buffer applicable to the risk-based capital ratios. As of June 30, 2026, the Company's Common Equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 13.70%, Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 13.70%, total risk-based capital ratio was 15.47%, and Tier 1 leverage capital ratio was 11.28%. YEAR-TO-DATE REVIEW Net income for the nine months ending September 30, 2026, was $274.3 million, an increase of $49.7 million, or 22.1%, compared to net income of $224.6 million for the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share for the nine months ending September 30, 2026 was $4.09 per share compared to $3.21 per share for the same period a year ago. The net interest margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, was 3.48% compared to 3.28% for the same period a year ago. Return on average stockholders' equity was 12.13% and return on average assets was 1.50% for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared to a return on average stockholders' equity of 10.39% and a return on average assets of 1.28% for the same period a year ago. The efficiency ratio for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, was 40.82% compared to 44.18% for the same period a year ago. CONFERENCE CALL Cathay General Bancorp will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2026 financial results this afternoon, Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., Pacific Time. Analysts and investors may dial in and participate in the question-and-answer session. To access the call, please dial 1-833-816-1377 and enter Conference ID 10212696. The presentation accompanying this call and access to the live webcast is available on our site at www.cathaygeneralbancorp.com and a replay of the webcast will be archived for one year within 24 hours after the event. ABOUT CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP Cathay General Bancorp is a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: CATY) and is the holding company for Cathay Bank, a California state-chartered bank. Founded in 1962, Cathay Bank offers a wide range of financial services and currently operates over 60 branches across the United States in California, New York, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, and New Jersey. Overseas, it has a branch outlet in Hong Kong, and representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City. To learn more about Cathay Bank, please visit www.cathaybank.com. Cathay General Bancorp's website is at www.cathaygeneralbancorp.com. Information set forth on such websites is not incorporated into this press release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements made in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding management's beliefs, projections, and assumptions concerning future results and events. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, such words as "aims," "anticipates," "believes," "can," "continue," "could," "estimates," "expects," "hopes," "intends," "may," "plans," "projects," "predicts," "potential," "possible," "optimistic," "seeks," "shall," "should," "will," and variations of these words and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates, beliefs, projections, and assumptions of management and are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. Such risks and uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, adverse developments or conditions related to or arising from local, regional, national and international business, market and economic conditions and events, the potential for new or increased tariffs, trade restrictions or geopolitical tensions that could affect economic activity or specific industry sectors and the impact they may have on us, our customers and our operations, assets and liabilities; possible additional provisions for credit losses and charge-offs; credit risks of lending activities and deterioration in asset or credit quality; extensive laws and regulations and supervision that we are subject to including potential future supervisory action by bank supervisory authorities; increased costs of compliance and other risks associated with changes in regulation; higher capital requirements from the implementation of the Basel III capital standards; compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and other money laundering statutes and regulations; potential goodwill impairment; liquidity risk; fluctuations in interest rates; risks associated with acquisitions and the expansion of our business into new markets; inflation and deflation; real estate market conditions and the value of real estate collateral; our ability to generate anticipated returns on our investments and financings, including in tax-advantaged projects; environmental liabilities; our ability to compete with larger competitors; our ability to retain key personnel; successful management of reputational risk; natural disasters, public health crises and geopolitical events; including wars and armed conflicts, and their resulting economic impacts; general economic or business conditions in Asia, and other regions where Cathay Bank has operations; failures, interruptions, or security breaches of our information systems; our ability to adapt our systems to technological changes; risk management processes and strategies; adverse results in legal proceedings; certain provisions in our charter and bylaws that may affect acquisition of the Company; changes in accounting standards or tax laws and regulations; market disruption and volatility; restrictions on dividends and other distributions by laws and regulations and by our regulators and our capital structure; issuance of preferred stock; successfully raising additional capital, if needed, and the resulting dilution of interests of holders of our common stock; the soundness of other financial institutions; and general competitive, economic, political, and market conditions and fluctuations. These and other factors are further described in Cathay General Bancorp's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (Item 1A in particular), other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and other filings Cathay General Bancorp makes with the SEC from time to time. Actual results in any future period may also vary from the past results discussed in this press release. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances, developments or events occurring after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. | | | | CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Unaudited) | | | | | | Three months ended | | Nine months ended September 30, (In thousands, except per share data) | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 | | | | | | | | | | Financial performance | | | | | | | | | | Net interest income before provision for credit losses | | $ | 211,878 | | | $ | 200,897 | | | $ | 189,587 | | | $ | 606,943 | | | $ | 547,447 | Provision for credit losses | | | 28,600 | | | | 11,240 | | | | 28,731 | | | | 58,033 | | | | 55,431 | Net interest income after provision for credit losses | | | 183,278 | | | | 189,657 | | | | 160,856 | | | | 548,910 | | | | 492,016 | Non-interest income | | | 42,770 | | | | 21,405 | | | | 21,021 | | | | 84,834 | | | | 47,616 | Non-interest expense | | | 103,376 | | | | 92,316 | | | | 88,117 | | | | 282,372 | | | | 262,907 | Income before income tax expense | | | 122,672 | | | | 118,746 | | | | 93,760 | | | | 351,372 | | | | 276,725 | Income tax expense | | | 27,498 | | | | 26,537 | | | | 16,109 | | | | 77,103 | | | | 52,118 | Net income | | $ | 95,174 | | | $ | 92,209 | | | $ | 77,651 | | | $ | 274,269 | | | $ | 224,607 | | | | | | | | | | | Net income per common share: | | | | | | | | | | Basic | | $ | 1.43 | | | $ | 1.38 | | | $ | 1.13 | | | $ | 4.10 | | | $ | 3.22 | Diluted | | $ | 1.43 | | | $ | 1.37 | | | $ | 1.13 | | | $ | 4.09 | | | $ | 3.21 | Cash dividends paid per common share | | $ | 0.38 | | | $ | 0.38 | | | $ | 0.34 | | | $ | 1.14 | | | $ | 1.02 | | | | | | | | | | | Selected ratios | | | | | | | | | | Return on average assets | | | 1.51 | % | | | 1.52 | % | | | 1.29 | % | | | 1.50 | % | | | 1.28 | % Return on average total stockholders' equity | | | 12.28 | % | | | 12.21 | % | | | 10.60 | % | | | 12.13 | % | | | 10.39 | % Efficiency ratio | | | 40.60 | % | | | 41.53 | % | | | 41.84 | % | | | 40.82 | % | | | 44.18 | % Dividend payout ratio | | | 26.49 | % | | | 27.59 | % | | | 29.93 | % | | | 27.74 | % | | | 31.59 | % | | | | | | | | | | Yield analysis (Fully taxable equivalent) | | | | | | | | | | Total interest-earning assets | | | 5.74 | % | | | 5.66 | % | | | 5.84 | % | | | 5.70 | % | | | 5.85 | % Total interest-bearing liabilities | | | 2.93 | % | | | 2.89 | % | | | 3.32 | % | | | 2.94 | % | | | 3.38 | % Net interest spread | | | 2.81 | % | | | 2.77 | % | | | 2.52 | % | | | 2.76 | % | | | 2.47 | % Net interest margin | | | 3.52 | % | | | 3.48 | % | | | 3.31 | % | | | 3.48 | % | | | 3.28 | % | | | | | | | | | | Capital ratios | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | | | Common equity tier 1 capital ratio | | | 13.51 | % | | | 13.70 | % | | | 13.15 | % | | | | Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio | | | 13.51 | % | | | 13.70 | % | | | 13.15 | % | | | | Total risk-based capital ratio | | | 15.00 | % | | | 15.47 | % | | | 14.76 | % | | | | Tier 1 leverage capital ratio | | | 11.06 | % | | | 11.28 | % | | | 10.88 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) | | | | | | (In thousands, except share and per share data) | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | | | | | Assets | | | | | | Cash and due from banks | | $ | 131,044 | | | $ | 163,976 | | | $ | 166,167 | Short-term investments and interest bearing deposits | | | 1,576,961 | | | | 1,163,120 | | | | 1,141,886 | Securities available-for-sale (amortized cost of $1,657,883 at September 30, 2026, $1,737,212 at June 30, 2026 and $1,728,199 at September 30, 2025) | | | 1,589,036 | | | | 1,682,820 | | | | 1,643,450 | Loans held for sale | | | 13,597 | | | | — | | | | — | Loans | | | 21,195,861 | | | | 20,621,332 | | | | 20,104,716 | Less: Allowance for loan losses | | | (224,190 | ) | | | (218,896 | ) | | | (186,647 | ) Unamortized deferred loan fees, net | | | (15,523 | ) | | | (14,606 | ) | | | (14,987 | ) Loans, net | | | 20,956,148 | | | | 20,387,830 | | | | 19,903,082 | Equity securities | | | 116,907 | | | | 80,854 | | | | 32,111 | Federal Home Loan Bank stock | | | 17,250 | | | | 17,250 | | | | 17,250 | Other real estate owned, net | | | 26,910 | | | | 33,659 | | | | 32,983 | Affordable housing investments and alternative energy partnerships, net | | | 295,407 | | | | 293,553 | | | | 292,672 | Premises and equipment, net | | | 90,346 | | | | 90,613 | | | | 88,552 | Customers' liability on acceptances | | | 6,393 | | | | 11,214 | | | | 7,730 | Accrued interest receivable | | | 97,206 | | | | 94,676 | | | | 96,055 | Goodwill | | | 375,696 | | | | 375,696 | | | | 375,696 | Other intangible assets, net | | | 2,095 | | | | 2,341 | | | | 2,667 | Right-of-use assets- operating leases | | | 35,493 | | | | 33,269 | | | | 31,086 | Other assets | | | 242,012 | | | | 221,948 | | | | 244,257 | Total assets | | $ | 25,572,501 | | | $ | 24,652,819 | | | $ | 24,075,644 | | | | | | | Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | | | | | | Deposits: | | | | | | Non-interest-bearing demand deposits | | $ | 3,950,436 | | | $ | 3,567,527 | | | $ | 3,574,567 | Interest-bearing deposits: | | | | | | NOW deposits | | | 2,634,247 | | | | 2,612,011 | | | | 2,226,182 | Money market deposits | | | 4,284,484 | | | | 3,894,594 | | | | 3,586,301 | Savings deposits | | | 1,517,383 | | | | 1,421,969 | | | | 1,424,243 | Time deposits | | | 9,448,438 | | | | 9,565,547 | | | | 9,709,856 | Total deposits | | | 21,834,988 | | | | 21,061,648 | | | | 20,521,149 | | | | | | | Advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank | | | 200,000 | | | | — | | | | 190,000 | Long-term debt | | | 65,011 | | | | 119,136 | | | | 119,136 | Acceptances outstanding | | | 6,393 | | | | 11,214 | | | | 7,730 | Lease liabilities - operating leases | | | 37,370 | | | | 35,114 | | | | 33,079 | Other liabilities | | | 371,994 | | | | 379,093 | | | | 302,274 | Total liabilities | | | 22,515,756 | | | | 21,606,205 | | | | 21,173,368 | Stockholders' equity | | | 3,056,745 | | | | 3,046,614 | | | | 2,902,276 | Total liabilities and equity | | $ | 25,572,501 | | | $ | 24,652,819 | | | $ | 24,075,644 | | | | | | | Book value per common share | | $ | 46.26 | | | $ | 45.59 | | | $ | 42.50 | Number of common shares outstanding | | | 66,083,728 | | | | 66,825,367 | | | | 68,286,591 | | | | | | | | | | | | | CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) | | | | | | Three months ended | | Nine months ended September 30, | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | 2026 | | 2025 | | (In thousands, except share and per share data) | | | Interest and Dividend Income | | | | | | | | | | Loan receivable, including loan fees | | $ | 317,189 | | | $ | 302,170 | | | $ | 308,945 | | | $ | 918,294 | | | $ | 899,786 | Investment securities | | | 15,086 | | | | 14,420 | | | | 12,690 | | | | 42,489 | | | | 38,459 | Federal Home Loan Bank stock | | | 658 | | | | 253 | | | | 376 | | | | 1,785 | | | | 1,128 | Deposits with banks | | | 12,219 | | | | 10,610 | | | | 12,184 | | | | 32,947 | | | | 37,135 | Total interest and dividend income | | | 345,152 | | | | 327,453 | | | | 334,195 | | | | 995,515 | | | | 976,508 | | | | | | | | | | | Interest Expense | | | | | | | | | | Time deposits | | | 83,001 | | | | 80,207 | | | | 93,087 | | | | 248,054 | | | | 283,517 | Other deposits | | | 47,869 | | | | 42,930 | | | | 46,300 | | | | 131,805 | | | | 133,104 | Advances from Federal Home Loan Bank | | | 384 | | | | 1,457 | | | | 3,075 | | | | 2,851 | | | | 5,721 | Long-term debt | | | 1,808 | | | | 1,841 | | | | 2,043 | | | | 5,478 | | | | 6,092 | Short-term borrowings | | | 212 | | | | 121 | | | | 103 | | | | 384 | | | | 627 | Total interest expense | | | 133,274 | | | | 126,556 | | | | 144,608 | | | | 388,572 | | | | 429,061 | | | | | | | | | | | Net interest income before provision for credit losses | | | 211,878 | | | | 200,897 | | | | 189,587 | | | | 606,943 | | | | 547,447 | Provision for credit losses | | | 28,600 | | | | 11,240 | | | | 28,731 | | | | 58,033 | | | | 55,431 | Net interest income after provision for credit losses | | | 183,278 | | | | 189,657 | | | | 160,856 | | | | 548,910 | | | | 492,016 | | | | | | | | | | | Non-Interest Income | | | | | | | | | | Net gains/(losses) from equity securities | | | 36,053 | | | | 11,652 | | | | 3,263 | | | | 65,021 | | | | (2,318 | ) Net loss on investment securities | | | (15,084 | ) | | | (10,554 | ) | | | — | | | | (41,323 | ) | | | — | Letters of credit commissions | | | 2,093 | | | | 2,331 | | | | 2,256 | | | | 6,830 | | | | 6,467 | Depository service fees | | | 2,106 | | | | 1,971 | | | | 2,011 | | | | 6,091 | | | | 5,688 | Wealth management fees | | | 6,623 | | | | 7,920 | | | | 6,219 | | | | 21,645 | | | | 17,324 | Other operating income | | | 10,979 | | | | 8,085 | | | | 7,272 | | | | 26,570 | | | | 20,455 | Total non-interest income | | | 42,770 | | | | 21,405 | | | | 21,021 | | | | 84,834 | | | | 47,616 | | | | | | | | | | | Non-Interest Expense | | | | | | | | | | Salaries and employee benefits | | | 48,233 | | | | 46,733 | | | | 43,462 | | | | 140,477 | | | | 129,012 | Occupancy expense | | | 6,171 | | | | 5,812 | | | | 6,104 | | | | 17,799 | | | | 17,791 | Computer and equipment expense | | | 7,211 | | | | 6,594 | | | | 5,760 | | | | 19,432 | | | | 16,974 | Professional services expense | | | 7,842 | | | | 7,438 | | | | 7,360 | | | | 23,062 | | | | 23,696 | Data processing service expense | | | 4,136 | | | | 3,651 | | | | 3,991 | | | | 11,802 | | | | 13,028 | FDIC and State assessments | | | 2,896 | | | | 2,992 | | | | 2,783 | | | | 8,335 | | | | 9,359 | Marketing expense | | | 1,683 | | | | 1,472 | | | | 1,494 | | | | 5,018 | | | | 4,485 | Other real estate owned expense/(income) | | | 442 | | | | 339 | | | | (1,078 | ) | | | 2,370 | | | | (1,211 | ) Amortization of investments in low income housing and alternative energy partnerships | | | 6,467 | | | | 9,873 | | | | 12,149 | | | | 23,080 | | | | 32,382 | Amortization of core deposit intangibles | | | 218 | | | | 217 | | | | 229 | | | | 653 | | | | 729 | Other operating expense | | | 18,077 | | | | 7,195 | | | | 5,863 | | | | 30,344 | | | | 16,662 | Total non-interest expense | | | 103,376 | | | | 92,316 | | | | 88,117 | | | | 282,372 | | | | 262,907 | | | | | | | | | | | Income before income tax expense | | | 122,672 | | | | 118,746 | | | | 93,760 | | | | 351,372 | | | | 276,725 | Income tax expense | | | 27,498 | | | | 26,537 | | | | 16,109 | | | | 77,103 | | | | 52,118 | Net income | | $ | 95,174 | | | $ | 92,209 | | | $ | 77,651 | | | $ | 274,269 | | | $ | 224,607 | Net income per common share: | | | | | | | | | | Basic | | $ | 1.43 | | | $ | 1.38 | | | $ | 1.13 | | | $ | 4.10 | | | $ | 3.22 | Diluted | | $ | 1.43 | | | $ | 1.37 | | | $ | 1.13 | | | $ | 4.09 | | | $ | 3.21 | | | | | | | | | | | Cash dividends paid per common share | | $ | 0.38 | | | $ | 0.38 | | | $ | 0.34 | | | $ | 1.14 | | | $ | 1.02 | Basic average common shares outstanding | | | 66,499,705 | | | | 67,014,700 | | | | 68,727,390 | | | | 66,832,009 | | | | 69,692,964 | Diluted average common shares outstanding | | | 66,761,397 | | | | 67,304,846 | | | | 68,990,648 | | | | 67,131,370 | | | | 69,946,877 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP AVERAGE BALANCES – SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Unaudited) | | | | Three months ended (In thousands) (Unaudited) | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 Interest-earning assets: | | Average Balance | | Average Yield/Rate (1) | | Average Balance | | Average Yield/Rate (1) | | Average Balance | | Average Yield/Rate (1) Loans (1) | | $ | 20,891,868 | | | 6.02 | % | | $ | 20,297,364 | | | 5.97 | % | | $ | 19,951,853 | | | 6.14 | % Taxable investment securities | | | 1,651,113 | | | 3.62 | % | | | 1,704,008 | | | 3.39 | % | | | 1,634,248 | | | 3.08 | % FHLB stock | | | 17,250 | | | 15.13 | % | | | 17,250 | | | 5.87 | % | | | 17,250 | | | 8.65 | % Deposits with banks | | | 1,310,565 | | | 3.70 | % | | | 1,168,077 | | | 3.64 | % | | | 1,113,274 | | | 4.34 | % Total interest-earning assets | | $ | 23,870,796 | | | 5.74 | % | | $ | 23,186,699 | | | 5.66 | % | | $ | 22,716,625 | | | 5.84 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Interest-bearing liabilities: | | | | | | | | | | | | Interest-bearing demand deposits | | $ | 2,608,725 | | | 1.66 | % | | $ | 2,493,275 | | | 1.48 | % | | $ | 2,189,376 | | | 1.70 | % Money market deposits | | | 4,065,916 | | | 3.08 | % | | | 3,734,347 | | | 3.02 | % | | | 3,556,374 | | | 3.44 | % Savings deposits | | | 1,503,628 | | | 1.44 | % | | | 1,511,915 | | | 1.49 | % | | | 1,419,953 | | | 1.72 | % Time deposits | | | 9,660,600 | | | 3.41 | % | | | 9,501,517 | | | 3.39 | % | | | 9,698,744 | | | 3.81 | % Total interest-bearing deposits | | $ | 17,838,869 | | | 2.91 | % | | $ | 17,241,054 | | | 2.86 | % | | $ | 16,864,447 | | | 3.28 | % Other borrowed funds | | | 71,414 | | | 3.32 | % | | | 174,147 | | | 3.63 | % | | | 295,892 | | | 4.26 | % Long-term debt | | | 115,634 | | | 6.20 | % | | | 119,136 | | | 6.20 | % | | | 119,136 | | | 6.80 | % Total interest-bearing liabilities | | $ | 18,025,917 | | | 2.93 | % | | $ | 17,534,337 | | | 2.89 | % | | | 17,279,475 | | | 3.32 | % | | | | | | | | | | | | Non-interest-bearing demand deposits | | | 3,569,978 | | | | | | 3,454,633 | | | | | | 3,384,141 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total deposits and other borrowed funds | | $ | 21,595,895 | | | | | $ | 20,988,970 | | | | | $ | 20,663,616 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total average assets | | $ | 24,945,244 | | | | | $ | 24,269,814 | | | | | $ | 23,843,380 | | | Total average equity | | $ | 3,074,263 | | | | | $ | 3,029,993 | | | | | $ | 2,907,596 | | | Net interest spread | | | | 2.81 | % | | | | 2.77 | % | | | | 2.52 | % Net interest margin | | | | 3.52 | % | | | | 3.48 | % | | | | 3.31 | % (1) | | Yields and interest earned include net loan fees. Non-accrual loans are included in the average balance. | | | | Nine months ended (In thousands) (Unaudited) | | September 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 Interest-earning assets: | | Average Balance | | Average Yield/Rate (1) | | Average Balance | | Average Yield/Rate (1) Loans (1) | | $ | 20,453,313 | | | 6.00 | % | | $ | 19,593,553 | | | 6.14 | % Taxable investment securities | | | 1,675,273 | | | 3.39 | % | | | 1,572,074 | | | 3.27 | % FHLB stock | | | 17,250 | | | 13.83 | % | | | 17,250 | | | 8.74 | % Deposits with banks | | | 1,202,938 | | | 3.66 | % | | | 1,139,060 | | | 4.36 | % Total interest-earning assets | | $ | 23,348,774 | | | 5.70 | % | | $ | 22,321,937 | | | 5.85 | % | | | | | | | | Interest-bearing liabilities: | | | | | | | | Interest-bearing demand deposits | | $ | 2,482,097 | | | 1.53 | % | | $ | 2,155,336 | | | 1.69 | % Money market deposits | | | 3,825,022 | | | 3.03 | % | | | 3,468,421 | | | 3.43 | % Savings deposits | | | 1,509,852 | | | 1.48 | % | | | 1,351,352 | | | 1.65 | % Time deposits | | | 9,616,901 | | | 3.45 | % | | | 9,658,300 | | | 3.92 | % Total interest-bearing deposits | | $ | 17,433,872 | | | 2.91 | % | | $ | 16,633,409 | | | 3.35 | % | | | | | | | | Other borrowed funds | | | 124,401 | | | 3.48 | % | | | 204,953 | | | 4.14 | % Long-term debt | | | 117,956 | | | 6.21 | % | | | 119,136 | | | 6.84 | % Total interest-bearing liabilities | | | 17,676,229 | | | 2.94 | % | | | 16,957,498 | | | 3.38 | % | | | | | | | | Non-interest-bearing demand deposits | | | 3,459,809 | | | | | | 3,340,530 | | | | | | | | | | | Total deposits and other borrowed funds | | $ | 21,136,038 | | | | | $ | 20,298,028 | | | | | | | | | | | Total average assets | | $ | 24,421,642 | | | | | $ | 23,462,799 | | | Total average equity | | $ | 3,023,608 | | | | | $ | 2,890,581 | | | Net interest spread | | | | 2.76 | % | | | | 2.47 | % Net interest margin | | | | 3.48 | % | | | | 3.28 | % (1) | | Yields and interest earned include net loan fees. Non-accrual loans are included in the average balance. CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP GAAP to NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Unaudited) The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures including tangible book value ("TBV"), tangible book value per share ("TBV/Share"), tangible assets, tangible common equity ("TCE") ratio, the return on average tangible common stockholders' equity ("ROATCE"), adjusted total revenue, adjusted non-interest expense, and the adjusted efficiency ratio. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with information useful in understanding its financial position, results of operations, the strength of its capital position, and overall business performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are used for performance measurement purposes, as well as for internal planning and forecasting, and by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties to assess peer company operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for GAAP-basis financial measures. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these with other companies that present financial measures having the same or similar names. The Company strongly encourages investors to review its consolidated financial statements in their entirety and to not rely on any single financial measure. TBV represents stockholders' equity less goodwill and other intangible assets. TBV/share represents TBV divided by the number of common shares outstanding at the end of the reporting period. The TCE ratio represents TBV divided by tangible assets. Tangible assets is equal to total assets less goodwill and other intangible assets. ROATCE is calculated using net income adjusted for the tax-effected amortization of intangible assets, as a percentage of average stockholders' equity less average goodwill and other intangible assets. | | | | As of ($ In thousands, except share and per share data) | | | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | | | (Unaudited) Stockholders' equity | | (a) | | $ | 3,056,745 | | | $ | 3,046,614 | | | $ | 2,902,276 | Less: Goodwill | | | | | (375,696 | ) | | | (375,696 | ) | | | (375,696 | ) Other intangible assets (1) | | | | | (2,095 | ) | | | (2,341 | ) | | | (2,667 | ) Tangible book value | | (b) | | $ | 2,678,954 | | | $ | 2,668,577 | | | $ | 2,523,913 | | | | | | | | | Total assets | | (c) | | $ | 25,572,501 | | | $ | 24,652,819 | | | $ | 24,075,644 | Less: Goodwill | | | | | (375,696 | ) | | | (375,696 | ) | | | (375,696 | ) Other intangible assets (1) | | | | | (2,095 | ) | | | (2,341 | ) | | | (2,667 | ) Tangible assets | | (d) | | $ | 25,194,710 | | | $ | 24,274,782 | | | $ | 23,697,281 | | | | | | | | | Average stockholders' equity | | | | $ | 3,074,263 | | | $ | 3,029,993 | | | $ | 2,907,596 | Less: Average goodwill and other intangible assets, net | | | | | (377,960 | ) | | | (378,072 | ) | | | (378,510 | ) Average tangible stockholders' equity | | (e) | | $ | 2,696,303 | | | $ | 2,651,921 | | | $ | 2,529,086 | | | | | | | | | Number of common shares outstanding | | (f) | | | 66,083,728 | | | | 66,825,367 | | | | 68,286,591 | | | | | | | | | Common equity to assets ratio | | g=(a)/(c) | | | 11.95 | % | | | 12.36 | % | | | 12.05 | % Tangible common equity ratio | | h=(b)/(d) | | | 10.63 | % | | | 10.99 | % | | | 10.65 | % Book value per share | | | | $ | 46.26 | | | $ | 45.59 | | | $ | 42.50 | Tangible book value per share | | i=(b)/(f) | | $ | 40.54 | | | $ | 39.93 | | | $ | 36.96 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended | | | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | | | (Unaudited) Net Income | | | | $ | 95,174 | | | $ | 92,209 | | | $ | 77,651 | Add: Amortization of other intangibles (1) | | | | | 210 | | | | 278 | | | | 249 | Tax effect of amortization adjustments (2) | | | | | (62 | ) | | | (82 | ) | | | (74 | ) Tangible net income | | (j) | | $ | 95,322 | | | $ | 92,405 | | | $ | 77,826 | | | | | | | | | Return on average stockholders' equity (3) | | | | | 12.28 | % | | | 12.21 | % | | | 10.60 | % Return on average tangible common equity (3) | | k=(j)/(e) | | | 14.03 | % | | | 13.98 | % | | | 12.21 | % (1) | | Includes core deposit intangibles and servicing rights (2) | | Applied the statutory rate of 29.65%. (3) | | Annualized | | | | | | As of ($ In thousands, except share and per share data) | | | | September 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | | | (Unaudited) Stockholders' equity | | (a) | | $ | 3,056,745 | | | $ | 2,902,276 | Less: Goodwill | | | | | (375,696 | ) | | | (375,696 | ) Other intangible assets (1) | | | | | (2,095 | ) | | | (2,667 | ) Tangible book value | | (b) | | $ | 2,678,954 | | | $ | 2,523,913 | | | | | | | Total assets | | (c) | | $ | 25,572,501 | | | $ | 24,075,644 | Less: Goodwill | | | | | (375,696 | ) | | | (375,696 | ) Other intangible assets (1) | | | | | (2,095 | ) | | | (2,667 | ) Tangible assets | | (d) | | $ | 25,194,710 | | | $ | 23,697,281 | | | | | | | Average stockholders' equity | | | | $ | 3,023,608 | | | $ | 2,890,581 | Less: Average goodwill and other intangible assets, net | | | | (378,110 | ) | | | (378,718 | ) Average tangible stockholders' equity | | (e) | | $ | 2,645,498 | | | $ | 2,511,863 | | | | | | | Number of common shares outstanding | | (f) | | | 66,083,728 | | | | 68,286,591 | | | | | | | Common equity to assets ratio | | g=(a)/(c) | | | 11.95 | % | | | 12.05 | % Tangible common equity ratio | | h=(b)/(d) | | | 10.63 | % | | | 10.65 | % Book value per share | | | | $ | 46.26 | | | $ | 42.50 | Tangible book value per share | | i=(b)/(f) | | $ | 40.54 | | | $ | 36.96 | | | | | | | | | | | Nine months ended | | | | September 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | | | | | Net Income | | | | $ | 274,269 | | | $ | 224,607 | Add: Amortization of other intangibles (1) | | | | | 720 | | | | 796 | Tax effect of amortization adjustments (2) | | | | | (213 | ) | | | (236 | ) Tangible net income | | (j) | | $ | 274,776 | | | $ | 225,167 | | | | | | | Return on average stockholders' equity (3) | | | | | 12.13 | % | | | 10.39 | % Return on average tangible common equity (3) | | k=(j)/(e) | | | 13.89 | % | | | 11.99 | % (1) | | Includes core deposit intangibles and servicing rights (2) | | Applied the statutory rate of 29.65%. (3) | | Annualized Adjusted total revenue is calculated by adding net interest income before provision for credit losses and non-interest income excluding net gains and losses from equity and investment securities and TruPS redemption benefit. Adjusted non-interest expense is non-interest expense excluding amortization of investments in low-income housing and alternative energy partnerships, other real estate owned expenses, amortization of core deposit intangibles, the FDIC special assessment, charitable contribution to Cathay Bank Foundation and contract termination costs. The Adjusted efficiency ratio is calculated by dividing the Company's adjusted non‑interest expense by adjusted total revenue. It represents the costs expended to generate a dollar of revenue. The adjusted components exclude items that are non‑operational as well as the amortization of investments in low‑income housing partnerships and alternative energy partnerships. Although this amortization is operational in nature, it is removed to enhance comparability with peers that report these costs within income tax expense under proportional amortization accounting, which the Company has not yet adopted. | | | | Three months ended | | Nine months ended ($ In thousands) (Unaudited) | | | | September 30, 2026 | | June 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 | | September 30, 2026 | | September 30, 2025 Net interest income before provision for credit losses | | a | | $ | 211,878 | | | $ | 200,897 | | | $ | 189,587 | | | $ | 606,943 | | | $ | 547,447 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Non-interest income | | | | $ | 42,770 | | | $ | 21,405 | | | $ | 21,021 | | | $ | 84,834 | | | $ | 47,616 | Adjustments: | | | | | | | | | | | | Net unrealized (gains)/losses from equity securities | | | | | (36,053 | ) | | | (11,652 | ) | | | (3,263 | ) | | | (65,021 | ) | | | 2,318 | Net loss on investment securities | | | | | 15,084 | | | | 10,554 | | | | — | | | | 41,323 | | | | — | TruPS redemption benefit | | | | | (3,134 | ) | | | — | | | | — | | | | (3,134 | ) | | | — | Adjusted non-interest income | | b | | $ | 18,667 | | | $ | 20,307 | | | $ | 17,758 | | | $ | 58,002 | | | $ | 49,934 | Adjusted total revenue | | c=a+b | | $ | 230,545 | | | $ | 221,204 | | | $ | 207,345 | | | $ | 664,945 | | | $ | 597,381 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Non-interest expense | | d | | $ | 103,376 | | | $ | 92,316 | | | $ | 88,117 | | | $ | 282,372 | | | $ | 262,907 | Adjustments: | | | | | | | | | | | | Amortization of investments in low income housing and alternative energy partnerships | | | | | (6,467 | ) | | | (9,873 | ) | | | (12,149 | ) | | | (23,080 | ) | | | (32,382 | ) Other real estate owned | | | | | (442 | ) | | | (339 | ) | | | 1,078 | | | | (2,370 | ) | | | 1,211 | Amortization of core deposit intangible | | | | | (218 | ) | | | (217 | ) | | | (229 | ) | | | (653 | ) | | | (729 | ) FDIC special assessment | | | | | — | | | | — | | | | 327 | | | | 585 | | | | 188 | Charitable contribution to Cathay Bank Foundation | | | | | (8,000 | ) | | | — | | | | — | | | | (8,000 | ) | | | — | Contract termination costs | | | | | (5,383 | ) | | | — | | | | — | | | | (5,383 | ) | | | — | Adjusted non-interest expense | | e | | $ | 82,866 | | | $ | 81,887 | | | $ | 77,144 | | | $ | 243,471 | | | $ | 231,195 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Efficiency ratio | | | | | 40.6 | % | | | 41.5 | % | | | 41.8 | % | | | 40.8 | % | | | 44.2 | % Adjusted efficiency ratio | | f=e/c | | | 35.9 | % | | | 37.0 | % | | | 37.2 | % | | | 36.6 | % | | | 38.7 | % View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261021941568/en/ Contacts Albert J. Wang (626) 279-3695

Cathay General (CATY) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.43 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.13 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -0.69%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this holding company for Cathay Bank would post earnings of $1.33 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.37, delivering a surprise of +3.01%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Cathay, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - West industry, posted revenues of $254.65 million for the quarter ended September 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.58%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $210.61 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Cathay shares have added about 25.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.7%. While Cathay has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Cathay was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.52 on $232.23 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $5.54 on $894.81 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Banks - West is currently in the top 22% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, TriCo (TCBK), is yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026. This holding company for Tri Counties Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.08 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +3.9%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.9% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. TriCo's revenues are expected to be $113.82 million, up 5.8% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) : Free Stock Analysis Report TriCo Bancshares (TCBK) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Cathay General (CATY) reported $254.65 million in revenue for the quarter ended September 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 20.9%. EPS of $1.43 for the same period compares to $1.13 a year ago. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $228.21 million, representing a surprise of +11.58%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of -0.69%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $1.44. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Cathay performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: - Ratio of net charge-offs to average loans: 0.5% versus 0.2% estimated by three analysts on average. - Net Interest Margin: 3.5% compared to the 3.5% average estimate based on three analysts. - Efficiency Ratio: 40.6% compared to the 39.6% average estimate based on three analysts. - Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio: 13.5% versus 13.6% estimated by two analysts on average. - Average balance - Total interest-earning assets: $23.87 billion compared to the $23.73 billion average estimate based on two analysts. - Tier 1 leverage capital ratio: 11.1% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 11.3%. - Total non-performing assets: $119.18 million compared to the $151.77 million average estimate based on two analysts. - Total non-performing loans: $92.27 million compared to the $118.94 million average estimate based on two analysts. - Total risk-based capital ratio: 15% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 15.2%. - Letters of credit commissions: $2.09 million compared to the $2.36 million average estimate based on three analysts. - Total Non-Interest Income: $42.77 million versus $20.52 million estimated by three analysts on average. - Net interest income before provision for loan losses: $211.88 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $207.66 million. View all Key Company Metrics for Cathay here>>> Shares of Cathay have returned -0.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Regional bank Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) will be reporting results this Wednesday after market close. Here's what to look for. Cathay General Bancorp beat analysts' revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $221.2 million, up 11.7% year on year. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a narrow beat of analysts' net interest income estimates but a narrow beat of analysts' EPS estimates. Is Cathay General Bancorp a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Cathay General Bancorp's revenue to grow 9.7% year on year, slowing from the 11.9% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Cathay General Bancorp has a history of exceeding Wall Street's expectations. Looking at Cathay General Bancorp's peers in the regional banks segment, some have already reported their Q3 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Washington Trust Bancorp delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 15%, beating analysts' expectations by 4.1%, and Independent Bank reported revenues up 7.4%, topping estimates by 0.6%. Independent Bank traded up 3.6% following the results. Read our full analysis of Washington Trust Bancorp's results here and Independent Bank's results here. Over the last year or so, investors' attention has moved from one major market theme to the next, spanning AI disruption and surging infrastructure investment to geopolitical tensions, interest rates, and the health of the broader economy. While some of the regional banks stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 5.7% on average over the last month. Cathay General Bancorp is down 3% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $65 (compared to the current share price of $59.65). ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who's building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody's paying attention. AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won't last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.