TM 2007 ANNUAL REPORT • About UCBH Holdings, Inc. UCBH Holdings, Inc., with $11.80 billion in assets as of December 31, 2007, is the holding company for United Commercial Bank (UCB™), a state-chartered commercial bank, which is a leading bank in the United States serving the Chinese communities and American companies doing business in Greater China. Together, the Bank and its subsidiaries, including United Commercial Bank (China) Limited, operate 51 California branches/offices located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton, Los Angeles and Orange counties, eight branches in New York, five branches in metropolitan Atlanta, three branches in New England, two branches in the Pacific Northwest, a branch in Houston, branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shantou, China, and representative offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, China, and Taipei, Taiwan. UCB, with headquarters in San Francisco, provides commercial banking services to small- and medium-sized businesses and professionals in a variety of industries, as well as consumer and private client services to individuals. The Bank offers a full range of lending activities, including commercial real estate and construction loans, commercial credit facilities, international trade finance, asset-based financing, cash management, loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, commercial, multifamily and residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and online banking services for businesses and consumers. For additional information, visit the web site for United Commercial Bank at www.ibankUNITED.com or the web site for UCBH Holdings, Inc. at www.ucbh.com. Chinatown and laying the foundation for our future growth in this area, which has the second highest concen- tration of Chinese in America. The Asian market segment is also the fastest growing in the New York market, and the opportunities for future growth are substantial. Over the next two years, we plan to open Letter to Shareholders It is my pleasure to additional branches in Brooklyn report to you the key achievements of UCBH and Flushing. A recent transaction Holdings, Inc. (“UCBH”), operating through significantly accelerates our expan- its primary subsidiary, United Commercial sion in that vibrant area. In May Bank (“UCB”) for the year 2007, as well as to 2007, we completed the acquisition of The Chinese American Bank discuss our outlook and plans for the future. (“CAB”), a privately-held institution with headquarters in New York. The year just past has been unlike any we have experienced. CAB had three strategically located full-service branches: The sub-prime crisis has rippled across the credit markets, two in Manhattan Chinatown and one in Flushing. The causing great uncertainty in the broader marketplace and integration of the CAB branches into the UCB network affecting the economy as a whole in ways that could not was seamless, and customer retention after the integration have been anticipated. Despite this challenging economic was more than 95%. This acquisition brings the total climate, however, we have been able to establish the of UCB branches in the New York area to eight and platform that will allow us to reap the benefits of the has greatly enhanced our name recognition and brand strategic plans we put in place three years ago. Hard identification, giving us good visibility throughout the work and persistence, a vision of the future that embraces metropolitan area. We have had significant success in globalization and international trade, the foresight to seek growing deposits and building our loan portfolios, and we business partnerships and facilitate trading relationships anticipate that New York will be one of our high growth on both sides of the Pacific Ocean—these are the ideas areas over the next several years. that will be the drivers of our success. In December 2006, we completed our acquisition of Continuing diversification was a key objective for us in Summit Bank Corporation (“Summit”), a commercial 2007, and two important acquisitions and the strategic bank headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Summit operated alliance with China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. five branches in the metropolitan Atlanta area, two in the (“Minsheng”) have strengthened our institution and South Bay Area of San Francisco, a representative office given us access to new markets both here and in China. in Shanghai, China, and its subsidiary Concord Bank, In 2005, we began to expand our franchise across the with a branch in Houston, Texas. Primarily a commercial United States, opening our first branch in Manhattan bank, Summit also had a strong international trade underserved by other financial institutions, so BDB’s focus on this customer base made it a unique franchise in China. BDB had all necessary licenses to offer a full range of foreign exchange business products and services to all types of customers, as well as to provide RMB deposit taking and financing to This is a historically significant event, the Foreign-Invested Enterprises and first time a Mainland Chinese bank has foreign individuals. successfully made a strategic investment Following the closing of the trans- in a U.S. bank. UCB will be the only Chinese- action, BDB began operations as a focused bank in the United States with a subsidiary of United Commercial Bank and is now known as United financial and strategic link to a leading Commercial Bank (China) Limited banking institution in Mainland China. (“UCBC”). In March 2008, we received an expanded license from finance platform. Atlanta is a transportation and commu- the China Banking Regulatory Commission (“CBRC”) nication hub and serves as a support center for the East to conduct a full scope of RMB business with Chinese- Coast, a significant benefit to UCB as our business there owned companies. grows. The integration of Summit was successfully The advantages of this acquisition are numerous and completed in May 2007, and all former Summit branches critical to the success of our Greater China strategy. UCB in Georgia, Texas and California are now fully integrated now has a well-organized infrastructure that will accelerate under the UCB brand. by at least five years the implementation of that strategy. In December 2007, we completed our acquisition of In addition to the licenses authorizing us to conduct Shanghai-based Business Development Bank Ltd. business throughout China, we have also acquired a highly (“BDB”). BDB was established in 1992 as the first wholly experienced management team with a solid foundation in foreign-owned bank in China, and the first such bank to business development, credit risk management and IT be approved by the People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”). operations and systems. We can now provide full banking With branches in Shanghai and Shantou and representative services to our own customers who are doing business in offices in Beijing and Guangzhou, BDB focused exclu- China, and we can pursue the significant growth opportu- sively on the small- and medium-size enterprise (“SME”) nities in China offered by the local SMEs doing business sector of the market. Most of these enterprises are located with U.S. companies. Over the next few years, we plan in China’s Key Business Area, which is composed of major to open two to three more branches in other strategic cities along China’s eastern coast and in the developing locations in China, most probably in Qingdao and inland provinces of the nation. The SME sector has been Chengdu, as well as a sub-branch in Shanghai. 2 In October 2007, we entered into a strategic alliance that this partnership will create significant competitive with China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd., a commercial advantages going forward, increasing market share for bank established in China in 1996 with a market capital- both Minsheng and UCBH. ization of approximately $27.6 billion as of March 4, UCBH achieved record earnings in 2007, despite a 2008. Minsheng which has no direct state ownership, very challenging banking and economic environment, a operates 327 branch outlets and 1,370 ATM locations write-down of two collateralized debt obligations and an in the wealthy coastal areas of China, offers a full menu additional provision for loan losses in the fourth quarter of both retail and commercial banking services to its of the year. Total earnings for the year were $102.3 customers. Under this agreement, Minsheng will acquire million, an increase of 1.4% from the $100.9 million an aggregate 9.9% ownership interest in UCBH by reported in 2006. Diluted earnings per share were $0.97. year-end 2008, with an option, by mutual consent of Net interest income for the year before the loan loss Minsheng and UCBH and subject to U.S. regulatory provision increased $58.7 million, up 22.2% from 2006. approval, to increase the ownership to 20% through June We are not happy with these results, but believe that our 2009. The first phase, which closed in March 2008, gave hard work over the past three years to increase our Minsheng a 4.9% stake in UCBH and provided us with penetration of other U.S. and Chinese markets will help $95.7 million of additional capital. In the second phase, us weather this downturn, eventually leading to an Minsheng will acquire an additional 5% of UCBH, increase in upward momentum and future prosperity. bringing its ownership to 9.9% by the end of this year. Our loan portfolio grew in 2007, resulting from new This is a historically significant event, the first time a loan commitments of $4.12 billion for the year, up Mainland Chinese bank has made a strategic investment 17.1%, from $3.51 billion in 2006 and the acquisitions of in a U.S. bank. UCB will be the only Chinese-focused BDB and CAB. Our new loan originations continue to be bank in the United States with a financial and strategic diversified geographically as well as by types of products link to a leading banking institution in Mainland China.