Cathay General Bancorp Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Cathay General Bancorp part-time for less than a year

Pros – Everyone is really helpful. The work itself is pretty easy, although as a teller i cannot comment on other facets of the bank.

Cons – Not much of a ladder to climb. Almost no exit opportunities or in house growth opportunities to speak of.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Cathay General Bancorp full-time

Pros – Great Culture and great office (if you work at the headquarter in El Monte).
Good place to work if you are a Chinese speaker.

Cons – Seniority tend to be overvalued. Top performers are not recognized and rewarded soon enough.
Employee evaluations are often expedited by busy supervisors and are not accurate.
Because of its aging community, coworkers are usually not open to change. Most of us still have office 2003 installed on our desktop. Training is unorganized but satisfactory.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Cathay General Bancorp full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – The bank provides a nice worklife balance, and I genuinely liked the people that I worked with. A lot of them are motivated, sharp, and down to earth.

Cons – Conflict management is an issue and it makes it difficult to get things done. Middle management and tenured employees will often say what yo uwant to hear but stick with the status quo. There needs to be more healthy conflict to spur change.

Advice to Senior Management – Management needs to have more of a presence and lend its weight to important issues. Stand behind some causes and be more visible.

Former Employee – worked at Cathay General Bancorp as a contractor for less than a year

Pros – Got a basis on how a bank works on the operation level. Got a good understanding of different programs that banks use.

Cons – If you don't speak Chinese its hard to get promoted.

Advice to Senior Management – Have more programs for entry level employees

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Cathay General Bancorp

Pros – Get to know about the banking business
Co-workers are generally nice
Lunch breaks and work breaks
managers are competent in what they do

Cons – If you don't have a lot of banking experience and do not speak either Cantonese or Mandarin do not expect to excel with this company.

Advice to Senior Management – Make more opportunities for entry level workers at the bank. Also fix or upgrade the office equipment ex. printers and scanners

Current Employee – been working at Cathay General Bancorp

Pros – Some people are very smart. Over all a good asian bank.

Cons – Low pay and no appreciation from management.

Advice to Senior Management – Get to know your people. Seniority means nothing .

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Cathay General Bancorp

Pros – I do enjoy the annual bonus payout but it has decreased due to issues with that home mortgage loan mess and the downturn in the economy.

Cons – Maybe this is just me but the silence drives me nuts! In the department I work in, you can probably hear a mouse's fart. Yes, we are all suppose to be working and getting work done but where is the friendly chit-chat that keeps things interesting inside the office? Work drags even more in a dead-silent and boring environment. Also, being quite new in my position (just over a year), it's difficult for me to keep up. The manager tells me to feel free to ask for help but everyone always have their heads buried in their work. They don't take their mandatory breaks during the day and sometimes they eat their lunch at their desks and continue to work. It doesn't feel accommodating at all. I feel guilty every time I go to one of my peers for assistance. Oh, and I also don't like their training - "Take a look at last year's work, read the procedural manual and just read up on possible updates on the internet. If you need help, feel free to ask someone." BLEH!

Advice to Senior Management – Put some life into the department please! I go some days saying less than 20 words, it's boring me to death! And definitely be more considerate of your new workers who have had zero experience in the kind of work you all do. Implementing a shadowing approach will do wonders for any new hires in the department.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Cathay General Bancorp

Pros – Manager can give you flexible schedule if you request.

Cons – Low pay.
Unprofessional training.
Limited opportunity to advance.
Limited resources to employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Cathay General Bancorp

Pros – Responsibilities that have an impact on the company
Senior management is supportive when an individual is self-driven
Hands-on tasks give interns a lot of experience and knowledge of the banking industry

Cons – Sometimes response from co-workers was slow, so an intern is not able to get their work done.

Advice to Senior Management – Build an efficient workflow process for documentation. Develop better ways to electronically store large batches of documents (loan files).

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Cathay General Bancorp

Pros – Follow labor laws and provide benefits

Cons – Pay is very low and hard to get promotion

Advice to Senior Management – In order to have your employees given their 100%, salary wise needs to be higher. In order for you to hire good employees, salary needs to be higher.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend