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The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (August 2) that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to EAST WEST BANK (EWB) under the Banking Ordinance. The granting of this banking licence took effect on 1 August 2006.
EWB is a state-chartered commercial bank established in Los Angeles and a wholly owned subsidiary of East West Bancorp, Inc. (?§Bancorp?¨). According to the July 2006 issue of The Banker, Bancorp was the 536th largest banking group in the World in terms of tier-1 capital.
After the granting of a banking licence to EWB, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 136.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Ying-ying Cheng, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480
Ends/Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:30
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