8-K

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

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                                    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): December 20, 2004

                             CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP
             (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)

     Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions:

[ ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act
     (17 CFR 230.425)
[ ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act
     (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[ ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[ ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

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ITEM 5.02 DEPARTURE OF DIRECTORS OR PRINCIPAL OFFICERS; ELECTION OF DIRECTORS;
APPOINTMENT OF PRINCIPAL OFFICERS

(b) On December 16, 2004, Wilbur K Woo, a Director and Vice Chairman of Cathay
General Bancorp and its subsidiary, Cathay Bank, notified the Board of Directors
that he will retire and resign from these positions effective January 31, 2005.
By appointment of the Board of Directors, effective January 31, 2005, Mr. Woo
will serve as a non-voting Director Emeritus and as a Vice Chairman Emeritus of
Cathay General Bancorp and Cathay Bank and as a member of Cathay General
Bancorp's Senior Advisory Board. A copy of the press release publicly announcing
Mr. Woo's retirement is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1.

ITEM 9.01. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.

(c)   Exhibits

      99.1   Press Release dated December 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:  December 20, 2004
                                              CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP

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

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

          CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP AND CATHAY BANK DIRECTOR WILBUR K. WOO
                            ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT

    LOS ANGELES, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cathay General Bancorp
(Nasdaq: CATY) announced today that Mr. Wilbur K. Woo, a Director and Vice
Chairman of Cathay General Bancorp and its subsidiary, Cathay Bank, notified the
Board of Directors that he will retire and resign from these positions effective
January 31, 2005, after 41 years of service. By appointment of the Board of
Directors, effective January 31, 2005, Mr. Woo will serve as a non-voting
Director Emeritus and as a Vice Chairman Emeritus of Cathay General Bancorp and
Cathay Bank, and as a member of Cathay General Bancorp's Senior Advisory Board.

    Mr. Woo joined Cathay Bank in 1963, a year after it was founded, and has
been a member of the Board of Directors since 1978.

    During his years of active management with Cathay Bank, Mr. Woo served as
Vice President from 1963 to 1970, Senior Vice President from 1971 to 1976,
Administrative Vice President, from 1977 to 1979, Executive Vice President from
1980 to 1982, and Secretary of the Board from 1980 until 2001. Mr. Woo has been
a Director of Cathay General Bancorp, formally known as Cathay Bancorp, Inc.,
since it was founded in 1990, and served as its Secretary until 2001. He became
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cathay General Bancorp and Cathay
Bank in 2001.

    "Wilbur was already a community leader when he first joined Cathay Bank and
was instrumental in building up the bank's business," commented Mr. George T.M.
Ching, a Director and one of the seven founders of Cathay Bank.

    "At Cathay Bank, we all share a sense of sadness as Mr. Woo retires from the
Board. But at the same time, we wish to thank him from the bottom of our hearts
for his invaluable contributions to Cathay General Bancorp and Cathay Bank,"
commented Mr. Dunson K. Cheng, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief
Executive Officer of Cathay General Bancorp and Cathay Bank.

    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 29 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. 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 to 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, such as 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 and of the memorandum of
understanding between Cathay Bank and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
relating to the Bank's compliance with certain provisions of the Bank Secrecy
Act.

    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-                             12/20/2004
    /CONTACT:  Monica Chen, +1-213-625-4749, for Cathay General Bancorp/
    /Web site:  http://www.cathaybank.com/