Cathay Bank is a Chinese American

Chinese American

Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...

 bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

 based in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. Founded in 1962, it has since expanded its network throughout California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and into Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, Washington, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, and New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. Additionally, it has representative offices in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

 and Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

.

History

Cathay Bank first opened in 1962 in Los Angeles' Chinatown

Chinatown, Los Angeles

Chinatown in Los Angeles, California is located in the city's downtown area. Built in 1938, it is the second Chinatown to be constructed in Los Angeles. The original historic Chinatown was founded in the late 19th century, but was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major rail...

 as the first Chinese-American bank in California. In 1979 it opened its first branch office in Monterey Park

Monterey Park, California

Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future"...

. Its first overseas representative office in Hong Kong was opened in 1985.

In 1999, Cathay expanded beyond California by opening a loan production office in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, which was converted to a full service branch in 2000. Expansion to New York occurred in 1999 with the acquisition of certain assets of Golden City Commercial Bank.

In 2003, branch offices were opened in Boston, Massachusetts, and Kent, Washington

Kent, Washington

Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States, and is the third largest city in King County and the sixth largest in the state. An outlying suburb of Seattle, Kent is also the corporate home for companies such as REI and Oberto Sausage...

. Cathay merged with General Bank in 2003. In 2006, Cathay prevailed in a bidding war with United Commercial Bank

United Commercial Bank

United Commercial Bank was an overseas Chinese bank in the United States, based in San Francisco, CA. It was a subsidiary of UCBH Holdings. Founded in 1974 as United Federal Savings and Loan Association, it changed its name to United Savings Bank, and finally United Commercial Bank in 1998...

 to acquire Great Eastern Bank. Cathay also acquired New Asia Bank in 2006.
On March 31, 2006, announced plans to acquire a 20% stake in First Sino Bank, but the deal fell through due to the companies failing to get approval from the Chinese government. On March 30, 2007, Cathay expanded into New Jersey when it completed its acquisition of United Heritage Bank.

Acquisitions

• First Public Savings Bank (1996)
• Lippo Bank's
  Lippo Bank
  Lippo Bank was a bank from Indonesia until it merged with Bank CIMB Niaga in 2008.-History:Lippo Bank was Indonesia's 9th largest bank in Indonesia by the number of the assets. It was established in 1948 and controlled by ethnic Chinese Mochtar Riady together with the Lippo Group...
  
  Westminster branch (1997)
• Certain assets of Golden City Commercial Bank in New York (1999)
• General Bank (2003)
• Great Eastern Bank (2006)
• New Asia Bank (2006)
• United Heritage Bank (2007)