Cathay General Bancorp - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Cathay General Bancorp is Medium Risk.

Cathay Bank is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. Cathay Bank implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. The company occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Medium Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	No Data
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Cathay Bank integrates ESG into its business practices. From its 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report: “Our approach to risk management incorporates ESG considerations, including climate-related risks, into various processes across our financial services and investments”, and the company has “integrated environmental initiatives throughout our business operations and continue to seek out ways to enhance environmental well-being” (1). However, the company has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (2).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Cathay Bank Foundation’s charitable giving guidelines require that organizations abide by equal opportunity employment, including on the basis of sexual orientation, thereby excluding some religious charities (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Cathay Bank requires its employees to take anti-discrimination training (1). The company operates a vendor diversity program. “Through the Cathay Bank Vendor Diversity Program, we seek to foster inclusion among our supplier base contributing to the long-term economic sustainability of our communities” (2). Cathay Bank does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Cathay Bank supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report: “Diversity and inclusion are one of our cultural hallmarks… Our commitment to diversity enables us to draw from a remarkable wealth of talent, benefiting from a workforce that offers a multiplicity of viewpoints, backgrounds and

experiences, in service of our clients” (1). The company supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report: “we at Cathay strive to manage our company consistently with principles that have stood the test of time, which includes effectively managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters” (2).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Cathay Bank does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).