Update: East West Bancorp Prices Offering

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East West Bancorp Inc. said that it plans to sell at least 11 million shares of stock that not only will provide a further cushion in the economic downturn, but enable the bank holding company to jump on growth opportunities.

The Pasadena parent of East West Bank on Tuesday priced the offering at $6.35 per share, for net proceeds of approximately $66.4 million. It expects to close the sale of stock on or about July 24.

East West said in its initial Monday announcement that it had raised nearly $169 million since the recession hit as part of a capital-raising campaign to shore up reserves and deal with bad commercial and residential loans.

“We believe we have the capital to weather an even more severe economic environment than we currently expect,” said Chief Executive Dominic Ng in a statement. “This additional capital will provide us with flexibility to pursue new growth opportunities or keep up an aggressive pace in resolving problem assets, should economic conditions get worse.”

Barclays Capital Inc. will be the sole underwriter of the secondary offering, and will have the option to purchase an additional 1.65 million shares, the bank said.

East West, Los Angeles County’s second largest locally based bank, reported last week a larger-than-expected second-quarter loss of $116 million due to provisions for loan losses and other charges, but said selling problem loans helped reduce delinquencies by 39 percent.

East West shares were down 26 cents, or 4 percent, to $6.39 in Tuesday midday trading on the Nasdaq.

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