East West Bancorp Inc is the holding company for East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank with cross-border operations concentrated in the United States and China. East-West Bank is one of a few U.S. based banks with a full banking license in China. The bank's cost strategy has increasingly focused on expanding its deposit base away from time deposits to commercial deposits. The bank has also taken part in entertainment partnerships between participants in China and Hollywood. Most of these efforts include financing the production and distribution of film and television projects. The bank leverages its cultural and regulatory knowledge in the U.S. and China to assist its customers in entering new markets. Most of its earning assets are in loans held for investment.