# Dominic Ng

Dominic Ng (born 1959) is an American banker. He has been the CEO of Los Angeles–based East West Bank since 1992, and chairman and CEO since 1998, transforming it from a savings and loan association into an international banking company. In 2023, Ng was chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council.

## Early life

Ng was born in the then-British Hong Kong, the youngest of six children. He was part of a wave of Hong Kong students who came to the United States to study in the 1970s, and earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Houston. Ng became a United States citizen in 1988.

## Career

Ng began his career as a Certified Public Accountant with Touche Ross in Houston and Los Angeles. In 1992, Ng became East West Bank's president and CEO. At the time, the bank was a $600 million savings and loan association.
Ng expanded on the bank's original mission of financing underserved Chinese immigrants, growing the bank's business internationally. He leveraged his Asia connections with mainstream American companies and made East West a commercial bank in 1995, allowing it to handle international trade financing. Ng also evolved and adapted the bank's mission to become what he describes as “the financial bridge between the East and the West,” saying East West is the “go-to” bank when it comes to Asian markets.
In 1998, Ng engineered East West Bank's sale in a management-led buyout. He became the bank's chairman that same year. The bank's parent entity, East West Bancorp, went public in 1999. Ng started East West's “Spirit of Ownership” program, whereby every East West employee receives the same amount of stock in the company every year, attributing the bank's sustainable growth in part to this program.
During Ng's tenure, East West has bought nine financial institutions. East West doubled its assets after the purchase of its closest competitor, United Commercial Bank, in 2009. The acquisition expanded East West to Atlanta, Boston, New York, and Seattle. While Ng considers Los Angeles “a priority,” East West is also active in San Diego, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley, as well as Dallas, Houston, and Las Vegas.
After the 2008 financial crisis, Ng expanded the bank's financing into the entertainment industry. The Hollywood Reporter named him as one of the top U.S. bankers connecting Hollywood film studios to investors in China, helping to arrange financing once investment deals are in place. Ng also focuses on biotech, clean technology, private equity, health care, real estate, renewable energy, sustainability financing, and cross-border business.
By 2024, East West Bank had over 100 locations in the U.S. and Asia, and over $70 billion in assets.

### Federal Reserve

From 2005 to 2011, Ng was on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles Branch.

### Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council

In 2022, Ng was appointed by the Biden administration to be a U.S. member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council, and later that year was announced to chair the 2023 APEC summit to be hosted by the U.S. His specific focus included climate change and technology.
Ng's appointment attracted scrutiny from several Republican lawmakers over his connections to China-based organizations. Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus characterized the scrutiny as racist in nature.
During APEC United States 2023, Ng and other APEC members presented a series of policy recommendations to world leaders. Ng and San Francisco Mayor London Breed also hosted a private welcome reception for the APEC Business Advisory Council.

## Philanthropy and community involvement

The Los Angeles Times describes Ng as a "philanthropist banker” and "inclusion practitioner” who promotes civic responsibility. Ng has supported the showcasing of East Asian culture and art by major U.S. institutions, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Huntington Library, Bowers Museum, and USC Pacific Asia Museum.
Ng is on the boards of Mattel, Inc., the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and the University of Southern California, in addition to being a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ng was a board member of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, becoming the first Asian-American chair of the United Way campaign in 2000–2001. From 2011 to 2014, he was chairman of the Committee of 100. Ng has also been on the boards of PacifiCare Health Systems and the Anderson School at UCLA.

### Accolades

In 2006, the Los Angeles Times named Ng one of the 100 most influential people in Los Angeles. In 2008, Forbes named Ng as one of 25 notable Chinese Americans. In 2017, American Banker magazine named Ng its "Consistent Performer" in its Banker of the Year awards, noting East West Bank's credit discipline.
In 2018, the University of Houston dedicated the Dominic & Ellen Ng Academic Center for Excellence to him and his wife. Columbia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute recognized Ng with its 75th Anniversary Award for Excellence in February 2024.
A 2022 Forbes profile of Ng called him "a business bridge between the U.S. and Asia." American Banker credits Ng for transforming the bank under his leadership. In June 2024, Ng was named to the Los Angeles Times' "L.A. Influential" list, and said that he "champions the durable power of steady growth."

## Personal life

Ng lives in Pasadena, California.