Exhibit 99.1

Press Release

Cathay General Banorp                                  New Asia Bancorp
777 N. Broadway                                        222 West Cermak Road
Los Angeles, CA 90012                                  Chicago, IL 60616
www.cathaybank.com                                     http://www.newasiabk.com/

Contact:
Heng W. Chen of Cathay General Bancorp,
+1-213-625-4752

               CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP TO ACQUIRE NEW ASIA BANCORP

Los Angeles, Calif., Chicago, IL, July 6: Cathay General Bancorp ("Cathay",
NASDAQ: CATY), the holding company for Cathay Bank, and New Asia Bancorp, Inc.
("New Asia Bancorp"), the holding company for New Asia Bank, announced today
that they had entered into an agreement for Cathay to acquire New Asia Bancorp
and New Asia Bank, which was founded in 1987, for $23.46 million in cash and
stock. As of March 31, 2006, New Asia Bancorp had total assets of approximately
$140 million, total loans of approximately $110 million, total deposits of
approximately $118 million, and total shareholders equity of approximately $11.9
million.

"We are pleased to announce our agreement to acquire New Asia Bancorp and New
Asia Bank," said Mr. Dunson K. Cheng, Chairman of the Board, President, and
Chief Executive Officer of Cathay. "Chicago is the third largest city in the
country and a central economic hub in Cathay's national expansion strategy. This
acquisition will present a new market opportunity for Cathay and should enable
Cathay to bring its brand of service to the important Chicago market. We are
especially pleased that Mr. Benjamin Wong, Chairman of New Asia Bancorp has
agreed to remain with us to manage our Midwest operations."

"We are very excited to announce this transaction and become a part of Cathay,
as they expand into the Chicago region," said Benjamin Wong, Chairman of New
Asia Bancorp. "We believe that by joining Cathay, we will be able to offer
larger loans and more products and services to our customer base and provide new
opportunities for our employees. We look forward to our future as a part of the
Cathay family," concluded Mr. Wong.

Holders of more than 55% of the shares of New Asia Bancorp have agreed to
support the transactions and vote their shares in favor of the merger proposal.
Upon the completion of the merger of New Asia Bancorp into Cathay, New Asia
Bancorp stockholders will be entitled to receive the merger consideration, at
their election, in cash, in shares of Cathay common stock or in a combination of
cash and shares of Cathay common stock, subject to proration. The mergers are
intended to qualify as reorganizations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The
transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2006 after the
receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. Cathay management expects the
transaction to be accretive to earnings per share in 2007 and thereafter.



Hovde Financial LLC served as financial advisor to New Asia Bancorp. Wachtell,
Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal counsel to Cathay and Schiff Hardin LLP
served as legal counsel to New Asia Bancorp in connection with this transaction.

ABOUT CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP

Cathay General Bancorp is the holding company for Cathay Bank, a California
state-chartered bank. Founded in 1962, Cathay Bank offers a wide range of
financial services. Cathay Bank currently operates thirty branches in
California, nine branches in New York State, one in Massachusetts, one in
Houston, Texas, two in Washington State, and representative offices in Taipei,
Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Cathay Bank's website is found at
http://www.cathaybank.com/.

ABOUT NEW ASIA BANCORP

New Asia Bancorp is the holding company for New Asia Bank, an Illinois
state-chartered bank. New Asia Bank was formed in 1987 in Chicago Chinatown by a
group of Chinese and American business men and women. The marketing goal of the
Bank is targeted to meet the financial needs of Asian residents and businesses
in the Chicago area. New Asia Bank has three full service offices in the Chicago
area: one in Chinatown, one in North Chinatown, and one in the western suburbs.
New Asia Bank's website is found at http://www.newasiabk.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND OTHER NOTICES

Statements made in this press release, other than statements of historical fact,
are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the applicable provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other
than statements of historical facts included in this press release are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees. They
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause
the actual results, performance, or achievements, of Cathay General Bancorp to
be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and
uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: the ability to
obtain governmental approvals of the merger on the proposed terms and schedule;
the risk that the businesses will not be integrated successfully; the risk that
the cost savings and any synergies from the merger may not be fully realized or
may take longer to realize than expected; disruption from the merger making it
more difficult to maintain relationships with clients, employees or suppliers;
increased competition and its effect on pricing, spending, third-party
relationships and revenues; the risk of new and changing regulation in the U.S.
and internationally. Additional factors that could cause results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found
in Cathay General Bancorp's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2005, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
31, 2006, its reports and registration statements filed (including those filed
by GBC Bancorp prior to its merger with Cathay General Bancorp) with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and other filings it makes in the
future with the SEC from time to time. All forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date of this press release. Cathay General Bancorp has no intention
and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise or to publicly
announce the results of any revision of any forward-looking statement to reflect
future developments or events. There can be no guarantee that any transaction
between Cathay General Bancorp and New Asia Bancorp will occur or what the price
or terms of any such transaction may be. This press release does not constitute
an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Cathay
General Bancorp.



Cathay General Bancorp's filings with the SEC are available to the public from
commercial document retrieval services and at the website maintained by the SEC
at http://www.sec.gov, or by request directed to Cathay General Bancorp, 777 N.
Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Attention: Investor Relations (213) 625-4749.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The proposed merger will be submitted to New Asia Bancorp's stockholders for
their consideration. Cathay will file a registration statement, which will
include a joint proxy statement/prospectus to be sent to New Asia Bancorp's
stockholders, and Cathay may file other relevant documents concerning the
proposed merger with the SEC. Stockholders are urged to read the registration
statement and the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed merger
when they become available and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC,
as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will
contain important information. You will be able to obtain a free copy of the
joint proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing
information about Cathay, at the SEC's Web site (http://www.sec.gov). You will
also be able to obtain these documents, free of charge, by accessing Cathay's
website (http://www.cathaybank.com) under the tab "Investor Information" and
then under the heading "SEC Reports."

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor
shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification
under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall
be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.