Note 1 - Business

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

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”),

nine

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

March 31, 2019,

the Bank operates

26

branches in Southern California,

14

branches in Northern California,

11

branches in New York State,

four

in Washington State,

three

in Illinois,

two

in Texas,

one

in Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, and New Jersey,

one

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

not

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