8-K

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                UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

      Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 18, 2003

                              CATHAY BANCORP, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

         Delaware                      0-18630                  95-4274680
(State or other jurisdiction   (Commission File Number)       (IRS Employer
     of incorporation)                                      Identification No.)

                777 North Broadway, Los Angeles, California 90012
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (213) 625-4700

                                 Not Applicable
          (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)




Item 5. Other Events.

On September 18, 2003, Cathay Bancorp, Inc. and GBC Bancorp, in a joint press
release, announced that they had received approval from their respective
stockholders for their pending merger. At separate special meetings held on
September 17, 2003, Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s stockholders and GBC Bancorp's
shareholders adopted and approved the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of
May 6, 2003, pursuant to which, among other things, GBC Bancorp would be merged
into Cathay Bancorp, Inc., General Bank would be merged into Cathay Bank, and
Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s name would be changed to Cathay General Bancorp upon
completion of the merger. In addition, Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s stockholders
approved an amendment to Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s certificate of incorporation to
increase the number of authorized shares of its common stock from 25,000,000 to
100,000,000 and an amendment to its equity incentive plan to increase the number
of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the plan from 2,150,000 to
3,500,000.

The press release also contained information about the status of regulatory
approvals, the number of GBC Bancorp's common stock outstanding and the issuance
of an additional $20 million of trust preferred securities by Cathay Bancorp,
Inc. The trust preferred securities were issued by a newly established
subsidiary of Cathay Bancorp, Inc., Cathay Statutory Trust I, and will bear an
interest rate equal to three-month LIBOR plus 3.00% and have a 30-year term. The
trust preferred securities are redeemable, at Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s option, in
whole or in part, once each quarter beginning five years after their issuance.
Cathay Bancorp, Inc. issued the trust preferred securities in connection with
its proposed merger with GBC Bancorp. Pursuant to the terms of the merger
agreement between Cathay Bancorp, Inc. and GBC Bancorp, Cathay Bancorp Inc. has
agreed to raise sufficient additional capital so that the combined company will
be "well capitalized" as defined in federal bank regulations at the time the
proposed merger is consummated. Under current regulatory guidelines, the
proceeds of the issuance of trust preferred securities qualify as Tier 1
capital, up to a maximum of 25% of an institution's Tier 1 capital.

A copy of the joint press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is
incorporated by reference herein.

Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c) Exhibits

      99.1 Press Release dated September 18, 2003.




                                    SIGNATURE

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: September 18, 2003

                                              CATHAY BANCORP, INC.

                                              By: /s/  Dunson K. Cheng
                                                  ------------------------------
                                                  Dunson K. Cheng
                                                  Chairman and President



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Number   Exhibit
- ------   -------

99.1     Press Release, dated September 18, 2003.

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

Cathay Bancorp, Inc. and GBC Bancorp Stockholders Approve Merger Agreement

        LOS ANGELES, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cathay Bancorp, Inc.
(Nasdaq: CATY) and GBC Bancorp (Nasdaq: GBCB) announced today that they
received approval from their respective stockholders for their pending merger.
At separate special meetings held on September 17, 2003, Cathay Bancorp,
Inc.'s stockholders and GBC Bancorp's shareholders adopted and approved the
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of May 6, 2003, pursuant to which,
among other things, GBC Bancorp would be merged into Cathay Bancorp, Inc.,
General Bank would be merged into Cathay Bank, and Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s name
would be changed to Cathay General Bancorp upon completion of the merger.

    In addition, Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s stockholders approved an amendment to
Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s certificate of incorporation to increase the number of
authorized shares of its common stock from 25,000,000 to 100,000,000 and an
amendment to its equity incentive plan to increase the number of shares of
common stock reserved for issuance under the plan from 2,150,000 to 3,500,000.

    Cathay Bancorp, Inc. and GBC Bancorp are working to complete the pending
merger as promptly as possible.  Completion of the merger is subject to
obtaining regulatory approvals and the fulfillment or waiver of other
conditions set forth in the merger agreement.  Cathay Bancorp, Inc. has
received regulatory approval from the California Commissioner of Financial
Institutions and the Federal Reserve Board while the application before the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") remains pending.  Depending on
the expected date of the FDIC approval, the parties may extend the cash/stock
election deadline currently set for September 23, 2003.  If the election
deadline is extended, Cathay Bancorp, Inc. and GBC Bancorp will announce the
extension and the new election deadline by means of a press release.

   On September 17, 2003, Cathay Bancorp, Inc. also completed the issuance of
an additional $20 million of trust preferred securities which qualify as
Tier 1 capital under current regulatory guidelines.

    As of September 17, 2003, GBC Bancorp had 11,728,863 shares of its common
stock outstanding, including 79,001 shares held in a rabbi trust.  It is
anticipated, however, that there will be approximately 12,013,527 shares
outstanding immediately prior to the merger because of anticipated option
exercises and stock bonus grants, among other things.  Based on information
available as of September 17, 2003, GBC Bancorp expects to issue 271,364
shares upon stock option exercises and 13,300 shares as stock bonuses.  In
arriving at the projected total, GBC Bancorp has assumed a $40.00 closing
share price of GBC Bancorp common stock on the day immediately prior to the
merger and made other assumptions described in the joint proxy
statement/prospectus dated July 31, 2003.  Since the number of shares of GBC
Bancorp common stock to be issued related to options exercised (including
options exercised pursuant to the cashless exercise method) depends, among
other things, on the price of GBC Bancorp common stock immediately prior to
the closing, there can be no assurance that the number of outstanding shares
of GBC Bancorp common stock immediately prior to the closing will equal the
number estimated in this press release.  The final outstanding number of
shares may be higher or lower than the projected number.

    ABOUT CATHAY BANCORP, INC. AND GBC BANCORP

    Cathay Bancorp, Inc. is the one-bank holding company for Cathay Bank, a
California state-chartered bank.  Founded in 1962, Cathay Bank offers a wide
range of financial services.  Cathay Bank currently operates 12 branches in
Southern California, eight branches in Northern California, three branches in
New York State, one in Houston, Texas, and representative offices in Hong Kong
and Shanghai, China.  In addition, Cathay Bank's subsidiary, Cathay Investment
Company, maintains an office in Taipei.  Cathay Bank's website is found at
http://www.cathaybank.com .

    GBC Bancorp is the one-bank holding company for General Bank, a California
state-chartered bank that commenced operations in March 1980.  General Bank
serves individuals and small to medium-sized businesses through 18 branch
offices located in the greater Los Angeles, San Diego, and Silicon Valley
areas of California, a branch office in the state of Washington and two
branches in Massachusetts.  In addition, the Bank's subsidiary, GBC Investment
& Consulting Company, Inc., maintains an office in Taipei.  GBC Bancorp's
website is found at http://www.generalbank.com .

    FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND OTHER NOTICES

    Statements made in this press release, other than statements of historical
fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These
forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, such words as
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may,"
"will," "should," "could," "predicts," "potential," "continue," or the
negative of such terms and other comparable terminology or similar
expressions.  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees.  They involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results, performance, or achievements, of both companies to be
materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements,
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, factors discussed
from time to time in reports filed by Cathay Bancorp, Inc. and GBC Bancorp
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").  The forward-looking
statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and
Cathay Bancorp, Inc. and GBC Bancorp do not assume any obligation to update
the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those projected in
the forward-looking statements.

    In connection with the proposed merger of Cathay Bancorp, Inc. with GBC
Bancorp, Cathay Bancorp, Inc. has filed a Registration Statement on Form S-4
with the SEC (which has been declared effective) and will file certain other
materials with the SEC from time to time.  Because those documents will
contain important information, you are urged to read them when they become
available.  When filed with the SEC, they will be available for free on the
SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov .

    Cathay Bancorp, Inc.'s and GBC Bancorp's filings with the SEC are
available to the public from commercial document retrieval services and at the
website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov .  In addition, requests
for documents relating to Cathay Bancorp, Inc. should be directed to Cathay
Bancorp, Inc., 777 North Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Attention: Investor
Relations (213) 625-4749.  Requests for documents relating to GBC Bancorp
should be directed to GBC Bancorp, 800 West Sixth Street, 15th Floor, Los
Angeles, CA 90017, Attention: Investor Relations (213) 972-4293.