10-K/A

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K/A

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission file number 0-18630

Cathay General Bancorp

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	95-4274680
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer 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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Common Stock, $.01 par value	Preferred Stock Purchase Rights
(Title of class)	(Title of class)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  x    No  ¨

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold as of the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter (June 30, 2004) was $1,415,068,247.

The number of shares outstanding as of February 15, 2005: Common Stock, $.01 par value — 50,708,644 shares.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

• Portions of Registrant’s definitive proxy statement relating to Registrant’s 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders which will be filed within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, are incorporated by reference into Part III.

• Estimated solely for the purposes of this cover page. The market value of shares held by Registrant’s directors, executive officers, and Employee Stock Ownership Plan have been excluded.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This amendment is filed solely to amend the Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm which was filed as Exhibit 23.1 to Cathay General Bancorp’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004. That exhibit, as originally filed, inadvertently omitted the conformed signature of KPMG LLP. The revised exhibit being filed herewith now contains the conformed signature of KPMG LLP. No revisions have been made to the financial statements or any other disclosures contained in the Annual Report.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) 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.

	Cathay General Bancorp
By:	/s/ HENG W. CHEN
	Heng W. Chen Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Date: March 30, 2005

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature	Title	Date
* Dunson K. Cheng	President, Chairman of the Board, Director, and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)	March 30, 2005
/s/ Heng W. Chen Heng W. Chen	Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer (principal financial officer) (principal accounting officer)	March 30, 2005
* Peter Wu	Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Operating Officer, and Director	March 30, 2005
* Anthony M. Tang	Executive Vice President and Director	March 30, 2005
* Kelly L. Chan	Director	March 30, 2005
* Michael M.Y. Chang	Director	March 30, 2005
* Thomas C.T. Chiu	Director	March 30, 2005
* Patrick S.D. Lee	Director	March 30, 2005
* Ting Liu	Director	March 30, 2005
* Joseph C.H. Poon	Director	March 30, 2005
* Thomas G. Tartaglia	Director	March 30, 2005

* By:	/s/ HENG W. CHEN
	Attorney-in-Fact

EXHIBIT INDEX

23.1    Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

EX-23.1

Exhibit 23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

Cathay General Bancorp:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement (No. 33-33767) on Form S-3 and the registration statements (Nos. 333-87225, 333-110008, and 333-110009) on Form S-8 of Cathay General Bancorp and subsidiaries (the “Company”) of our reports dated March 28, 2005, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, and the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2004, management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004, and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004, which reports appear in the December 31, 2004 annual report on Form 10-K of Cathay General Bancorp.

As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed its method of accounting for goodwill and other intangible assets in 2002.

/s/    KPMG LLP

Los Angeles, California

March 28, 2005