Cathay General in L.A. Repays Half Its Tarp Funds

Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) in Los Angeles has repaid half the money it received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The company paid the Treasury Department $129 million to partially redeem its Tarp shares, it said Wednesday. The repayment reduces its quarterly dividend payment by about $1.6 million, it said. Cathay General has paid the Treasury more than $54 million in quarterly dividends since December 2008, when it received $258 million through the Tarp program.

Its bank subsidiary, the $10.7 billion-asset Cathay Bank, has a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 12.2% and a total risk-based capital ratio of 17.1%, according to information from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

"We believe that regulatory approval to repay one half of our Tarp obligation demonstrates the financial strength of our banking franchise," Dunson Cheng, Cathay General's chairman and chief executive, said. "We are also pleased that we had the retained earnings and liquidity to be able to repay this portion of our Tarp obligation. We will continue to work towards redeeming the remaining Series B preferred stock as soon as possible."