Home Depot Center News

Southern California's Traditional Stop on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tennis Tour Becomes \"East West Bank Classic presented by Herbalife\"

Carson, CA --- East West Bank has become the new title sponsor for the 38th annual women's tennis tournament held each summer at The Home Depot Center, announced Timothy J. Leiweke, President and CEO, AEG. The tournament is now officially known as the East West Bank Classic presented by Herbalife.

\"East West Bank is one of the nation's premier community banks and we are proud to have them join our family as the title sponsor of this much anticipated tennis tournament,\" said Leiweke. \"They have an outstanding reputation and their resources will allow us to extend our visibility for this high profile women's tennis tournament.\"

On the heels of this new agreement come the announcement of two newly committed players to the East West Bank Classic, rising Chinese stars Na Li, ranked 18th and Shuai Peng, ranked 46th on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

As part of the title sponsorship, East West Bank will also be the presenting sponsor of the much anticipated John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier \"Legends Night\" special exhibition match on Opening Night, Monday, August 6. East West Bank will provide tennis fans with two of tennis' most legendary players in a best two of three sets exhibition match on the first evening of the annual women's tennis tournament, which is headlined this year by Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Natalia Petrova and Jelena Jankovic, among other top-ten ranked players. The East West Bank Legends Match will also feature special surprises for the fans, including a special chair umpire and guest ball boys.

\"East West Bank is pleased to partner with AEG in bringing world class tennis to Southern California,\" said Emily Wang, senior vice president and marketing director. \"The East West Bank Classic will provide summertime fun for families to enjoy at The Home Depot Center. We look forward to joining AEG in future events.\"

The East West Bank Legends Match marks the first time McEnroe will play at The Home Depot Center. Last year, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier launched the new tradition by entertaining tennis fans with two sets as part of the 2006 festivities, with Sampras beating Courier 6-1, 6-4.

This year's East West Bank Legends Match promises to be just as entertaining, as Courier returns to center court at The Home Depot Center. Both former World No. 1's, McEnroe and Courier met only three times in their professional careers, with McEnroe capturing a win in their first meeting (1988) and Courier winning the final two matches (Tokyo, 1991; US Open, 1992).

East West Bank replaces JPMorgan Chase, who previously held the title sponsorship role for the Tier II Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stop for the past three years, until their contract expired last year. As title sponsor, East West Bank will receive significant on-court signage throughout the week-long tournament, as well as presence in all tournament-related advertising collateral, including print, radio, TV and online.

In addition to sponsoring the McEnroe vs. Courier \"Legends Match,\" East West Bank is also the title sponsor for Sunday's finals match on August 12.

The East West Bank Classic presented by Herbalife is part of the prestigious US Open Series, which links 10 summer hard-court tournament to the famed US Open. This year's East West Bank Classic marks the fourth year players competing in the US Open Series tournaments will be vying for bonus prize money at the US Open. Players competing in the \"summer season\" of tennis at the participating Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments will receive US Open Series points, which will ultimately earn the series winner the opportunity to double her US Open prize purse.

The East West Bank Classic offers several ticket packages for the week-long tournament, including the \"East West Bank Legends Match\" pack, which includes a ticket to Opening Night (Monday, August 6) featuring John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier, as well as tickets to the Thursday night session. Other packages include a VIP Party Package and tennis clinic that are available for purchase, which include a meet-and-greet with both McEnroe and Courier. All Session ticket packages, including all 12 sessions of play, start at just $235. In addition, weekend packages which include a total of five sessions played on Friday (two sessions), Saturday (two sessions) and the finals on Sunday, start at only $125. Tennis fans purchasing these packages can save up to $731 off the regular price of individual tickets! For more information on all ticket packages, please call 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425) or visit eastwestbankclassic.com.

Credential applications are now available online at www.eastwestbankclassic.com. Applications are due no later than Monday, July 23, 2007. For more information, please visit eastwestbankclassic.com.

About the East West Bank Classic presented by Herbalife
The East West Bank Classic Presented by Herbalife, at 38 years old, is one of the most historic events in women's tennis, and is being held for the fourth consecutive year at The Home Depot Center. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event offers prize money of $600,000 to the 56-player singles and 16-team doubles draws. The distinguished tournament champions' list includes Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King - all of whom have also been ranked number one on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour during their careers. For more information please visit eastwestbankclassic.com.

About East West Bank
East West Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: EWBC), parent company of East West Bank, is a publicly owned company, with $10.7 billion in assets, whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol \"EWBC.\" The company's wholly owned subsidiary, East West Bank, is the second largest independent commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles with 60 branch locations. East West Bank serves the community with 58 branch locations across Southern and Northern California and a branch location in Houston, Texas. East West Bank has two international locations in Greater China, including a full-service branch in Hong Kong and a Beijing Representative Office in China. For more information on East West Bancorp, visit the company's website at eastwestbank.com.