Description of the Bancorps Common Stock

Exhibit 4.2

DESCRIPTION OF CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP’S COMMON STOCK

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

As of the date of filing of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, Cathay General Bancorp (referred to herein as the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), consisting of shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

The following is a brief description of the terms of our common stock. This summary does not purport to be complete in all respects. This description is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws (each as amended), copies of which have been filed with the SEC as exhibits to our annual report on Form 10-K.

General

Our restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, provides the authority to issue 100,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of February 14, 2020, there were 79,648,638 shares of common stock outstanding. Each share of our common stock has the same relative rights and is identical in all respects to each other share of our common stock.

Voting Rights

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share that they hold and are vested with all of the voting power except as our board of directors has provided, or may provide in the future, with respect to preferred stock or any other class or series of preferred stock that the board of directors may hereafter authorize.

Except in very limited circumstances, holders of our common stock may not cumulate their votes in the election of directors, which means that a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock are generally able to elect all of the directors standing for election each year, subject to the rights of any preferred stock that is then issued and outstanding.

Dividends

Although we have historically paid cash dividends on our common stock, we are not required to do so. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends if, as and when declared by our board of directors, out of any funds legally available for dividends subject to certain restrictions on payment of dividends imposed by the Delaware General Corporation Law and state and federal banking laws. The amount of future dividends will depend on our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors, and will be determined by our board of directors. We may issue securities, including preferred stock that have preference over our common stock with respect to the payment of dividends or other distributions. The terms of our Junior Subordinated Notes also limit our ability to pay dividends.

As a holding company, our ability to pay distributions is affected by the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends. The ability of our bank subsidiary Cathay Bank (the “Bank”) and our ability to pay dividends in the future is, and could in the future be further, limited by bank regulatory requirements and capital guidelines. The Bank’s ability to pay dividends to us is limited to the extent it is not current in paying interest on its subordinated debt or if another event of default has occurred.

Liquidation Rights

The holders of our common stock will become entitled to participate ratably in the distribution of any of our assets remaining after we have paid all of our debts and liabilities and after we have paid to the holders of any class of stock having preference over the common stock in the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the full preferential amounts, if any, to which they are entitled.

Certain Provisions of California and Federal Law

The following discussion is a summary of certain provisions of California and federal law and regulations, relating to stock ownership and transfers and business combinations, all of which may be deemed to have “antitakeover” effects. The description of these provisions is necessarily general and reference should be made to the actual laws and regulations and to the restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws of the Company (each as amended).

With certain limited exceptions, federal regulations prohibit a person or company or a group of persons deemed to be “acting in concert” from, directly or indirectly, acquiring more than 10% (5% if the acquirer is a bank holding company) of any class of our voting stock or obtaining the ability to control in any manner the election of a majority of our directors or otherwise direct the management or policies of our company without prior notice or application to, and the approval of, the Federal Reserve. Companies investing in banks and bank holding companies receive additional review and may be required to become bank holding companies, subject to regulatory supervision.

Under the California Financial Code, no person shall, directly or indirectly, acquire control of a California state bank or its holding company unless the Department of Business Oversight has approved such acquisition of control. A person would be deemed to have acquired control of the Company, and thereby indirectly control of the Bank, if such person, directly or indirectly, has the power (i) to vote 25% or more of the voting power of the Company or (ii) to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the Company. For purposes of this law, a person who, directly or indirectly, owns or controls 10% or more of the Company’s common stock would be presumed to control the Company.

Miscellaneous

Shares of our common stock are not redeemable, and have no subscription, conversion or preemptive rights. Outstanding shares of our common stock are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. Holders of our common stock are not, and will not be, subject to any liability as stockholders.

NASDAQ Listing

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CATY.”

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

ANTI-TAKEOVER PROVISIONS IN
THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

The following includes a brief description of certain of the provisions of the Company’s restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws (each as amended). This description is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws (each as amended), copies of which have been filed with the SEC as exhibits to our annual report on Form 10-K.

General

Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws (each as amended) contain certain provisions that deal with matters of corporate governance and certain rights of stockholders which might be deemed to have a potential “anti-takeover” effect. These provisions may have the effect of discouraging a future takeover attempt which is not approved by the board of directors but which individual stockholders may deem to be in their best interest, or in which stockholders may receive a substantial premium for their shares over then current market prices. As a result, stockholders who might desire to participate in such a transaction may not have an opportunity to do so. Such provisions will also render the removal of an incumbent board of directors or management more difficult.

Certain Certificate of Incorporation Provisions

Our restated certificate of incorporation has certain provisions that could make more difficult the acquisition of the Company by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest, merger or otherwise. These provisions include: (i) a requirement that any “Business Combination” (as defined in the restated certificate of incorporation) be approved by the affirmative vote of not less than 80% of the voting power of the then outstanding shares, voting together as a single class, excluding voting stock beneficially owned by an interested stockholder unless certain conditions are met, including without limitation: (a) the Business Combination is approved by a majority of “Continuing Directors” (as defined in the restated certificate of incorporation) or certain minimum price requirements are satisfied, (b) consideration to be received by holders of a particular series of stock is in cash or in the same form as has been previously paid by an “Interested Stockholder” (as defined in the restated certificate of incorporation) in connection with its acquisition of beneficial ownership of shares of such class, (c) there has been no failure to declare and pay at the regular date thereof any full regular dividends payable in accordance with the terms of any outstanding capital stock, other than common stock, except as approved by a majority of the Continuing Directors, (d) there has been no reduction in the amount, or change in the frequency of payment, of any dividends regularly paid on the common stock, (e) the Interested Stockholder has not received the benefit, directly or indirectly, of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial assistance or tax credits or tax advantages by the Company, and (f) a proxy or information statement describing the Business Combination has been mailed to all stockholders of the Company at least 30 days prior to consummation of such Business Combination, (ii) a requirement that any “Stock Repurchase” (as defined in the restated certificate of incorporation) from an Interested Stockholder shall be approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by the holders of such stock which is beneficially owned by persons other than such Interested Stockholder, voting together as a single class, unless (a) the Stock Repurchase is made pursuant to a tender offer or exchange offer made available on the same basis to all holders of such class of capital stock, or (b) the Stock Repurchase is made pursuant to an open market program approved by a majority of the Continuing Directors, and (iii) the ability of the board of directors to issue preferred stock at such time and on such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate.

Directors

Certain provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws (each as amended) will impede changes in majority control of the board of directors. Our restated certificate of incorporation and/or amended and restated bylaws (each as amended) provide that: our board is divided into three classes so that approximately one-third of the total number of directors is elected each year (this “classified” board of directors is intended to provide for continuity of the board of directors and to make it more difficult and time consuming for a stockholder group to use its voting power to gain control of the board of directors without consent of the incumbent board of directors); any vacancy occurring in the board of directors, including a vacancy created by an increase in the number of directors, is generally filled by a majority vote of the directors then in office for the remainder of the unexpired term; a director, in general, may be removed from office at any time only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of eighty percent (80%) of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class; stockholders may vote their shares cumulatively for directors in the event there is a holder of forty percent (40%) or more of our outstanding capital stock entitled to vote; prohibition on taking action by stockholder written consent or for stockholders to call for a special meeting; and procedures for the nomination of directors and submission of matters to the vote of our stockholders.

Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute

We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person becomes an interested stockholder, unless:

For purposes of Section 203, a business combination includes a merger, asset sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. An interested stockholder is generally a person who, together with affiliates and associates of that person, (a) owns 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock or (b) is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation at any time within the three year period immediately prior to the date on which it is to be determined whether such person is an interested stockholder.

4