Bilingual Internet Banking Capability Strengthens Bank's Position In
Core Market
Discount Offer on Pacific Bell High-Speed DSL Internet Service with Prodigy Or
Free SINA.com Dial-Up Access and Shell Prepaid Gift Cards Add Value For
Customers
SAN MARINO, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- East West Bancorp, Inc.
(Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, one of the nation's premier
community banks and a leading financial institution focused on the Chinese
American and other niche markets, today announced that it now offers Chinese-
language Internet banking capabilities, and will provide its customers with a
discount on Pacific Bell High-Speed DSL Internet Service with Prodigy or free
SINA.com dial-up access. In addition, to attract customers and new visitors
to its Web site, East West Bank has joined with Shell to provide the Bank's
customers with Shell prepaid gift cards.
East West Bank believes that its Chinese-language Internet banking product
is the first interactive domestic online banking service available in Chinese
and will further enhance its strong reputation as the market leader in serving
the California Chinese American community. The Chinese-language service
enables consumers to open accounts, check balances, transfer money, access
transaction history and pay bills online. "This is a major milestone in the
history of East West Bank," said Dominic Ng, President and CEO. "With a
Chinese Internet-based banking product, our reach to the Chinese community has
expanded considerably; not only here in California, but throughout the United
States and Asia as well."
With the introduction of Internet banking in Chinese, East West continues
its longstanding tradition of delivering groundbreaking financial products and
quality, personalized service through its multilingual team of banking
professionals. East West was among the first financial institutions to offer
ATM service and 24-hour automated telephone banking in Chinese, English and
Spanish. "A great deal of our success is attributable to our ability to meet
the cultural and service demands of our ethnically diverse customer base with
responsive and innovative banking," said Ng. "The introduction of Chinese-
language Internet banking is another example of the Bank's commitment to its
core retail market and another reason we believe that we can maintain the
growth in this stable deposit franchise."
Regarding East West Bank's marketing alliances, Ng said, "It is very
gratifying to be selected as a strategic partner by global corporations like
SBC, SINA and Shell. We are proud to share our brand name with these
companies and help them reach out to the Chinese community, while at the same
time bring value-added services to our customers."
Commenting on the joint promotion, Pam Price, Senior Director, SBC
Consumer Market -- Alliance Partnerships said, "SBC Communications is pleased
to be working with East West Bank to make Pacific Bell High-Speed DSL Internet
Service with Prodigy available to its customers. SBC is dedicated to
supporting and understanding the needs of the communities we serve. Our
alliance with East West Bank complements our outreach efforts to a very
important segment of the Asian population and enhances our company's
understanding of the communications needs of the Chinese community."
East West Bank will offer its customers Pacific Bell Basic High-Speed DSL
Internet Service with Prodigy for only $37.95 a month with a one-year service
agreement. The Basic DSL service enables customers to experience the Internet
at speeds up to 50 times faster than a standard 28.8 kilobits per second
(Kbps) modem, and allows subscribers to access their DSL line while
simultaneously talking on the phone or sending a fax. Currently, Pacific Bell
DSL is available to more than 6.5 million homes and businesses in California.
To further facilitate usage of online banking services, East West Bank has
also partnered with SINA.com, the world's leading Chinese Web site, to provide
free dial-up Internet access. Through their Free ISP product, SINA.com will
provide East West Bank customers the crucial link to anytime/anywhere Internet
access in North America. All East West branches will distribute co-branded
Free ISP CD-ROMs, allowing instant access to all SINA and East West Bank
online products and services.
David Eddy, Vice President of Sales at SINA.com, commented on the alliance
with East West, "As the largest Chinese-language Internet portal in
North America, we are glad to work with East West Bank to enhance online
banking resources for Chinese Americans. Asian Americans are using online
banking services more than any other ethnic group in the United States. By
linking with East West and offering free dial-up access to the Web, we
increase our visibility among an expanding financially savvy online
population."
East West Bank is also teaming with Shell to provide a $10 Shell prepaid
gift card to the first 1000 individuals to open a new account with East West
Bank during the month of October. Additionally, East West and Shell will hold
a sweepstakes for the Bank's customers through which they can enter to win a
$100 Shell prepaid gift card each week, from October 1, 2000 through
March 31, 2001. Consumers can use Shell prepaid gift cards to purchase
gasoline or retail products.
"At Shell, we are committed to providing consumers with quick and hassle-
free products and the Shell prepaid gift card is a perfect example," said
Dave Burrow, General Manager Equilon Pacific South Region. "We are pleased to
join with East West Bank, a company that is also committed to responding to
customers' needs, as proven by their new Internet banking product. We look
forward to working with East West Bank to make their customers' lives easier."
East West Bank
East West Bancorp is a publicly owned company with $2.4 billion in assets
whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "EWBC."
The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, East West Bank, is the fourth largest
commercial bank headquartered in Southern California. East West Bank serves
the community with 29 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco
and Santa Clara counties. It is also one of the largest financial institutions
in the nation focusing on the Chinese-American community.
For more information on East West Bancorp (via fax and at no cost), call
800/PRO-INFO and dial client code ``EWBC.'' If calling from outside the United
States, dial 732-544-2850. The company's Web site can be reached at
http://www.eastwestbank.com .
Pacific Bell
Pacific Bell is a subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. ( http://www.sbc.com ), a
global communications leader. Through its subsidiaries' trusted brands --
Southwestern Bell, Ameritech, Pacific Bell, SBC Telecom, Nevada Bell, SNET and
Cellular One -- and world-class network, SBC's subsidiaries provide local and
long-distance phone service, wireless and data communications, paging, high-
speed Internet access and messaging, cable and satellite television, security
services and telecommunications equipment, as well as directory advertising
and publishing. In the United States, the company currently has 61.2 million
access lines, 12.2 million wireless customers and is undertaking a national
expansion program that will bring SBC service to an additional 30 markets.
Internationally, SBC has telecommunications investments in more than 20
countries. With approximately 219,000 employees, SBC is the 13th-largest
employer in the U.S., with annual revenues that rank it among the largest
Fortune 500 companies.
SINA.com
SINA.com is a leading Internet media and services company for Chinese
communities worldwide, offering on-line news, entertainment, community and
e-commerce. A popular destination site for the world's largest population
group, SINA.com offers a Chinese-language network of four localized Web sites
that are produced and updated daily by local teams in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
and North America. As of June 2000, SINA.com enjoyed 34 million averaged
daily pageviews and 7 million registered users. To learn more about SINA.com,
visit the company's corporate site at http://www.sina.com/corp/ , or regional
sites at http://www.sina.com , http://www.sina.com.cn , http://sina.com.hk and
http://www.sina.com.tw .
Shell
Shell branded gasoline and petroleum products are marketed by
Equilon Enterprises LLC and Motiva Enterprises LLC, joint ventures between
Shell Oil Company and Texaco, Inc. and Shell Oil Company, Texaco, Inc. and
Saudi Refining, Inc., respectively. Equilon operates in the western and
midwestern U.S. and Motiva in the east, gulf coast and Washington, D.C.
SOURCE East West Bancorp, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.eastwestbank.com
CONTACT:
Julia Gouw, Chief Financial Officer,
626-583-3512, Investor Relations, Steven Canup, 626-583-3775,
Media Relations, Kelly Adams, 626-685-3639, all for East West
Bancorp, Inc.
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