First-gen banking in the United States
Start with the job: new arrival deposit account, immigrant-owned small business, Korean or Chinese American relationship banking, or U.S.–Asia trade and wires. These profiles are researched starting points, not rankings.
How we pick profiles
- National or major regional brands first-gen readers actually search
- Clear immigrant, diaspora, or Asia-corridor product story
- Enough public history and footprint to write an honest best-for note
Bank profiles
East West Bank
The largest Asian American–owned bank by scale, built as a U.S.–Asia bridge for Chinese American communities and cross-border commercial clients.
Cathay Bank
The oldest operating U.S. bank founded by Chinese Americans. Chinatown roots, multistate branches, and Pacific Rim offices for Greater China households and businesses.
Bank of the Orient
A Bay Area Chinese American community bank with a rare full-service branch in Xiamen, China. Smaller than Cathay or East West, rooted in SF Chinatown and Peninsula neighborhoods.
Abacus Federal Savings Bank
A New York Chinatown-founded Chinese American community bank for immigrant households and small shops across NY, NJ, and Pennsylvania. Mortgage relationship banking more than a national remittance app.
Preferred Bank
A Downtown LA commercial bank founded for Chinese American clients in 1991. Now a ~$7.7B middle-market lender that still leans on East Asia migration and trade desks in California, New York, and Houston.
Royal Business Bank
A Los Angeles Chinese American commercial bank (~$4.3B) built for first-gen Chinese and Taiwanese communities, with 24 branches from San Gabriel Valley to Flushing, Chicago Chinatown, and Honolulu.
CTBC Bank USA
A Taiwan-parent FDIC bank for Taiwanese and Greater China diaspora households. About $5.4B with San Gabriel Valley depth, Bay Area and Flushing branches, and fee-waived wires into the CTBC Asia network.
Hanmi Bank
The first Korean American bank in the U.S., still oriented to immigrant and multi-ethnic small-business communities in Koreatown and other Asian American MSAs.
Bank of Hope
The largest Korean American bank by franchise scale - a super-regional built from Koreatown predecessors and expanded into a multistate multicultural bank.
Shinhan Bank America
A Korea-parent FDIC bank for Korean American households and small businesses. Smaller than Hope or Hanmi, with bilingual branches in NY/NJ, California, Georgia, and Texas.
Metro City Bank
Atlanta’s flagship Korean American commercial bank. About $4.5B after buying crosstown rival First IC, with Southeast weight, SBA/USDA desks, and a thinner California toehold.
Woori America Bank
A Korea-parent FDIC bank (~$4B) for Korean American households and small businesses. Woori Bank name recognition, published Korea wire fees, and bilingual branches from Flushing to LA Koreatown corridors.
PCB Bank
A Koreatown-rooted Korean American commercial bank (~$3.5B) with branches across Southern California, Bayside, New Jersey, DFW, and Suwanee, plus SBA and trade-finance desks.
Chase
The national megabank first-gen story: payroll and ATMs almost everywhere, ITIN-friendly branch openings, Secure Banking as a no-overdraft starter, then wires and home lending as income stabilizes.
Bank of America
The other national first-gen stack: published visa/ITIN opening guidance, SafeBalance as a no-overdraft starter that still wires, Advantage Plus for payroll, and Merrill Rewards as income rises.
Citibank
The global-network national first-gen story: Access Checking as a Bank On starter, ITIN openings in major metros, fee-free Citi-to-Citi Global Transfers, then Priority and Citigold as balances rise.
Wells Fargo
A national megabank whose first-gen edge is ExpressSend remittances to India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, plus Clear Access Banking that opens with an ITIN.
State Bank of India (California)
The FDIC-insured California subsidiary of India’s largest bank. Strong when India remittances and Indo-American relationship banking matter more than a national megabank map.
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