East West Bancorp (EWBC) Is Up 5.4% After Adding Ex‑Citi Risk Chief Peter Babej To Board – Has The Bull Case Changed?

• Earlier this month, East West Bancorp, Inc. added former Citi executive Peter Babej to the boards of both the holding company and East West Bank, appointing him to the Risk Oversight Committees and bringing the board to eleven directors, ten of whom are independent.
• This governance move comes as the bank reports stronger-than-expected third-quarter 2025 earnings and rapid deposit expansion in Houston, highlighting how risk oversight is evolving alongside its growth.
• We’ll now examine how East West’s robust third-quarter earnings performance reshapes its existing investment narrative and risk-return profile for investors.

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East West Bancorp Investment Narrative Recap

To own East West Bancorp, you need to believe in its role as a specialist bridge between U.S. and Asian markets, supported by disciplined credit risk and deposit growth. The appointment of Peter Babej to the Risk Oversight Committees reinforces governance around those themes but does not materially change the key near term catalyst, which remains earnings progression, or the biggest current risk, its continuing exposure to commercial real estate.

The most relevant recent update here is East West’s stronger than expected third quarter 2025 earnings, with diluted EPS of US$2.65 and solid net interest income growth. Those results helped the stock reach a 52 week high of US$111.00 and sit alongside rapid deposit expansion in Houston, both of which sharpen the focus on how well the bank can manage credit quality and capital allocation while still reducing its concentration in commercial real estate over time.

Yet beneath the strong quarter and share price strength, one risk investors should be very aware of is...

Read the full narrative on East West Bancorp (it's free!)

East West Bancorp's narrative projects $3.3 billion revenue and $1.4 billion earnings by 2028. This requires 10.8% yearly revenue growth and an $0.2 billion earnings increase from $1.2 billion.

Uncover how East West Bancorp's forecasts yield a $125.87 fair value, a 10% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Four members of the Simply Wall St Community currently value East West Bancorp between US$65 and about US$228.65, highlighting how far apart individual views can be. Against that backdrop, East West’s commercial real estate concentration remains a key factor that could meaningfully influence credit costs and earnings resilience, so it is worth weighing these different viewpoints before deciding where you stand.

Explore 4 other fair value estimates on East West Bancorp - why the stock might be worth as much as 99% more than the current price!

Build Your Own East West Bancorp Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your East West Bancorp research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free East West Bancorp research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate East West Bancorp's overall financial health at a glance.

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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.

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