Note 22 - Regulatory Matters

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Disclosure Text Block [Abstract]

Regulatory Capital Requirements under Banking Regulations [Text Block]

22.     Regulatory Matters

The Bank is subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the federal banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can result in certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the Bank’s financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, the Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of the Bank’s assets, liabilities, and certain off-balance-sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The Bank’s capital amounts and classification are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings, and other factors.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has established five capital ratio categories: “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized,” and “critically undercapitalized.” A well capitalized institution must have acommon equity tier 1 capital ratio equal to or greater than 6.5%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio equal to or greater than 8%, a total risk-based capital ratio equal to or greater than 10%, and a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio equal to or greater than 5%. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Bank qualified as well capitalized under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action.

The Bancorp’s and the Bank’s capital and leverage ratios as of December 31, 2015, and December 31, 2014, are presented in the tables below:

	Cathay General Bancorp								Cathay Bank
	December 31, 2015				December 31, 2014				December 31, 2015				December 31, 2014
(Dollars in thousands)	Balance		%		Balance		%		Balance		%		Balance		%
Common equtiy Tier 1 capital ( to risk-weighted assets)	$	1,383,377		12.95		n/a		n/a	$	1,443,159		13.54		n/a		n/a
Common equtiy Tier 1 capital minimum requirement		480,830		4.50		n/a		n/a		479,801		4.50		n/a		n/a
Excess	$	902,547		8.45		n/a		n/a	$	963,358		9.04		n/a		n/a
Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)	$	1,498,810		14.03	$	1,406,511		14.96	$	1,443,159		13.54	$	1,353,481		14.42
Tier 1 capital minimum requirement		641,107		6.00		376,072		4.00		639,735		6.00		375,318		4.00
Excess	$	857,703		8.03	$	1,030,439		10.96	$	803,424		7.54	$	978,163		10.42
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)	$	1,634,631		15.30	$	1,524,702		16.22	$	1,576,525		14.79	$	1,471,337		15.68
Total capital minimum requirement		854,809		8.00		752,144		8.00		852,980		8.00		750,637		8.00
Excess	$	779,822		7.30	$	772,558		8.22	$	723,545		6.79	$	720,700		7.68
Tier 1 capital (to average assets)
– Leverage ratio	$	1,498,810		11.95	$	1,406,511		12.99	$	1,443,159		11.53	$	1,353,481		12.52
Minimum leverage requirement		501,875		4.00		433,121		4.00		500,455		4.00		432,350		4.00
Excess	$	996,935		7.95	$	973,390		8.99	$	942,704		7.53	$	921,131		8.52
Risk-weighted assets	$	10,685,115			$	9,401,803			$	10,662,248			$	9,382,961
Total average assets (1)	$	12,546,879			$	10,828,015			$	12,511,382			$	10,808,747

(1) The quarterly total average assets reflect all debt securities at amortized cost, equity security with readily determinable fair values at the lower of cost or fair value, and equity securities without readily determinable fair values at historical cost.

* Basel III rules became effective January 1, 2015, with transitional provisions. All prior period data is based on Basel I rules.