Chamber News,

September 13, 2018 | Posted by developer

Cathay Bank has served Uptown residents since 2006, when it acquired New Asia Bank. Uptown United chatted with D. Tran, Customer Service & Sales Manager and Uptown resident, about how the bank supports Uptown’s pan-Asian immigrant community and helps area residents achieve the American Dream.

Founded in 1962 in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, Cathay Bank has since grown to 50-plus branches across America, with three international locations in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei. Staying true to their mission of providing financial services to the Chinese-American means Cathay Bank always plans new locations in areas with sizeable Asian communities.

D. Tran moved to Uptown from Oklahoma just a year ago and was drawn to the area’s diversity, the mom & pop stores, and the proximity to both the lake and amenities like the Aragon Ballroom.

What makes Cathay Bank different? Cathay Bank aims to help immigrants acclimate and specializes in serving immigrant communities, with bilingual banking services and tellers who speak Mandarin, Cantonese, and Vietnamese. The bank also offers a robust mortgage program that is flexible to meet Uptown residents’ varying needs.

Embedded in the community. Cathay Bank Uptown staff holds financial literacy classes with non-profits organizations to help educate residents about how to better manage and invest their money. The classes are especially useful for recent transplants, who have adapted to a new country where budgeting and financing works different. And since for many owning their own home is the eventual goal, the classes help put them on track toward realizing that ultimate American Dream.

And while Cathay Bank Uptown encourages a certain amount of volunteerism among its staff, the Uptown branch regularly exceeds expectations while working with locals of all ages.

What else does Cathay Bank do? International trade is the bank’s other specialty and Cathay Bank lets clients conduct business within the same currency. Mostly used is the Chinese Yen which makes trading much more efficient by keeping funds in one currency and preventing needing to constantly transfer the money back and forth.

What’s next? Cathay Bank celebrates its 55th anniversary this year and just recently opened its 58th branch. It was also recently ranked number 12 in Forbes’ annual Best Banks in America listing.

Cathay Bank Uptown is open 9am to 5pm daily on M-F, 9am to 1pm on Sat and closed on Sundays.