Note 1 - Business

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2018

Notes to Financial Statements

Nature of Operations [Text Block]

1.

Business

Cathay General Bancorp (“Bancorp”) is the holding company for Cathay Bank (the “Bank” and, together, with Bancorp, the “Company”),

eight

limited partnerships investing in affordable housing investments in which the Bank is the sole limited partner, Asia Realty Corp. and GBC Venture Capital, Inc. Bancorp also owns

100%

of the common stock of

five

statutory business trusts created for the purpose of issuing capital securities. The Bank was founded in

1962

and offers a wide range of financial services. As of

June 30, 2018,

the Bank operates

26

branches in Southern California,

14

branches in Northern California,

12

branches in New York State,

three

branches in Illinois,

three

branches in Washington State,

two

branches in Texas,

one

branch in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and Nevada,

one

branch in Hong Kong, and a representative office in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei. Deposit accounts at the Hong Kong branch are

not

insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”).