8-K

                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): August 20, 2004

                             CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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

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

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

          (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)


Item 5. Other Events and Required FD Disclosure

      The information in this Current Report on Form 8-K, including the exhibit,
is furnished pursuant to Item 5 and shall not be deemed "filed" for the purposes
of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise
subject to the liabilities under that Section. Furthermore, the information in
this Current Report on Form 8-K, including the exhibit, shall not be deemed to
be incorporated by reference into the filings of Cathay General Bancorp under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

      On August 20, 2004, Cathay General Bancorp announced, in a press release,
that the company's Board of Directors approved a two-for-one split of the
company's common stock, in the form of a 100% stock dividend, payable September
28, 2004, to stockholders of record on September 13, 2004. That press release is
attached hereto as exhibit 99.1.

Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c)   Exhibits

      99.1 Press Release dated August 20, 2004.



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:  August 20, 2004
                                     CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP

                                     By: /s/ Heng W. Chen
                                         ----------------
                                         Heng W. Chen
                                         Executive Vice President
                                         and Chief Financial Officer



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Number   Exhibit

99.1     Press Release, dated August 20, 2004.

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

                  Cathay General Bancorp Announces Stock Split

      LOS ANGELES, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cathay General Bancorp
(Nasdaq: CATY), the one-bank holding company for Cathay Bank, announced today
that the company's Board of Directors approved a two-for-one split of the
company's common stock, in the form of a 100% stock dividend, payable September
28, 2004, to stockholders of record on September 13, 2004. Stockholders will
receive one additional share for every one share of Cathay General Bancorp
common stock held on the record date.

      Dunson K. Cheng, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive
Officer of Cathay General Bancorp said, "We are splitting our company's common
stock to help make it more accessible to a wider range of investors and to help
improve its liquidity."

      ABOUT CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP

      Cathay General Bancorp 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 32 branches in
California, three branches in New York State, two branches in Massachusetts, one
in Houston, Texas, one in Washington State, and representative offices in Hong
Kong and Shanghai, China. In addition, the Bank's subsidiaries, Cathay
Investment Company and GBC Investment & Consulting Company, Inc., both maintain
an office in Taipei. As part of its post-merger integration plans to efficiently
serve its customers, Cathay Bank intends to close four additional branches in
Southern California in October 2004 and to consolidate their operations with
nearby branches. Cathay Bank's website is found at http://www.cathaybank.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 Cathay General Bancorp to be materially
different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties and
other factors include, but are not limited to, adverse developments or
conditions related to or arising from: the Company's ability to integrate its
operations after its recent merger with GBC Bancorp and realize the benefits of
that merger, demographic changes, fluctuations in interest rates, inflation,
competition, war and terrorism, general economic or business conditions in
California and other regions where Cathay Bank has operations, such as the
impact of the California budget deficit, changes in business strategy, including
the formation of a real estate investment trust (REIT) and the deregistration of
its registered investment company (RIC), and legislative and regulatory
developments, particularly the potential effects of recently enacted California
tax legislation and the subsequent Franchise Tax Board announcement on December
31, 2003, regarding the taxation of REITs and RICs. These and other factors are
further described in Cathay General Bancorp's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2003, its reports and registration statements filed
(including those filed by GBC Bancorp prior to the merger) with the Securities
and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and other filings it makes in the future with
the SEC from time to time. Cathay General Bancorp has no intention and
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to publicly
announce the results of any revision of any forward-looking statement to reflect
future developments or events.

      Cathay General 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, or by request directed to Cathay General Bancorp, 777
N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Attention: Investor Relations (213)
625-4749.

SOURCE  Cathay General Bancorp
    -0-                             08/20/2004
    /CONTACT:  Monica Chen of Cathay General Bancorp, +1-213-625-4749/
    /Web site:  http://www.cathaybank.com /
    (CATY)

CO:  Cathay General Bancorp; Cathay Bank
ST:  California
IN:  FIN
SU:  DIV