Kitty Ma Chen

Senior Managing Director, Head of Retail & Business Banking
East West Bank
COMMERCIAL BANKING

Kitty Chen, senior managing director and head of retail and business banking at East West Bank, has been instrumental in the bank’s growth, overseeing a team of more than one-third of its associates. Over her 30-year career, the bank’s assets have grown 30 times to $75 billion, with retail banking achieving 10% asset growth in the past year. Chen played a key role in securing critical Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding for businesses during the pandemic and drove deposit growth amid the 2023 banking crisis. She championed trilingual banking services in English, Chinese and Spanish to enhance accessibility. As a former co-chair of the East West Bank United Way Campaign, she fostered a culture of philanthropy within her team, inspiring high participation rates year after year.