Royal Business Bank for first-gen and Chinese American households
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.
Educational bank profile for first-gen readers — not a ranking or personal recommendation.
Overview
Royal Business Bank opened in Los Angeles in 2008 to serve first-generation Chinese and Taiwanese communities that needed bilingual commercial banking. Parent RBB Bancorp trades as Nasdaq: RBB; as of June 30, 2026 the company reported about $4.3 billion in assets, about $3.3 billion in loans held for investment, and about $3.4 billion in deposits across 24 full-service branches in six states. President and CEO Johnny Lee leads the franchise. The bank operates as a minority depository institution and a certified community development financial institution, and it grew through acquisitions including TomatoBank, First American International Bank in Brooklyn, Pacific Global Bank in Chicago, and the Honolulu branch of Bank of the Orient in 2022. Brand angle: Asian-centric relationship commercial banking with SBA Preferred Lending and trade-finance tools, not Cathay or East West balance-sheet scale and not a national megabank ATM story.
Strengths
- Founded for first-generation Chinese and Taiwanese communities with bilingual relationship banking in core metros
- Six-state footprint (California, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii) including Flushing, Brooklyn, Chicago Chinatown, and Honolulu
- SBA Preferred Lender for 7(a) and 504 pathways sized for immigrant-owned shops and CRE
- International banking desk for letters of credit, collections, and foreign-currency remittances
Footprint
Headquarters at 1055 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, with operations in Buena Park. Investor materials count nine Los Angeles County branches, two in Ventura County, one in Orange County, one in Las Vegas, seven New York metro locations (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan), one in Edison, New Jersey, two in Chicago, and one in Honolulu, plus a 2026 Burlingame loan production office aimed at Bay Area commercial growth. Not a nationwide digital bank. Confirm live hours on royalbusinessbankusa.com.
Services
- Consumer banking
- Small business
- Commercial / middle market
- Wealth / private banking
- Mortgages
- SBA lending
- Trade finance
- International wires
Personal and business deposits (checking, savings, CDs, money markets), commercial and investor real-estate lending, C&I lines, SBA 7(a) and 504, residential mortgages, treasury and merchant tools, and international banking (import/export/standby letters of credit, documentary collections, foreign-currency outgoing remittances). Regional fee schedules differ between New York / New Jersey and California / Nevada / Illinois / Hawaii. Online and mobile enrollment typically starts in branch.
Best for
- China / Greater China corridor
- Immigrant-owned small business
- Cross-border and trade complexity
- Hands-on branch banking
- Language access and cultural fit
Best fit when Chinese American or Taiwanese American community banking is the job and you already live near an RBB metro: San Gabriel Valley, Orange County, Las Vegas, Flushing or Brooklyn, Edison, Chicago Chinatown, or Honolulu. Strong for immigrant-owned shops that need SBA, CRE, and trade letters of credit with multilingual bankers rather than a Chase or Bank of America national stack. Compared with Preferred Bank (~$7.7B), Royal is the smaller Asian-centric MDI with broader East Coast and Hawaii branch density. Compared with CTBC USA (~$5.4B), Royal is an independent U.S. Chinese American franchise rather than a Taipei-parent subsidiary. Compared with Cathay (~$25B) and East West (~$80B+), Royal is mid-size community scale without Cathay’s nine-state map or East West’s mainland China commercial-bank subsidiary. Hawaii readers: the Honolulu branch came from Bank of the Orient in 2022, so Orient’s Bay Area and Xiamen story is separate from RBB’s Hawaii desk.
Less ideal for: Households that only need a national digital checking app with no Chinese American commercial relationship, people far from RBB’s six-state branch map who will never visit a branch, or buyers who need an onshore China branch rather than U.S. trade-finance correspondents.
Compelling offers
Checked against bank pages as of July 29, 2026. Bonuses, fee waivers, and rate specials change often. Confirm eligibility and end dates on the bank’s site before you plan around them.
SBA Preferred Lender (7(a) and 504)
Royal Business Bank is an SBA Preferred Lender marketing 7(a) loans for owner-user CRE, acquisitions, refinance, working capital, and equipment, plus 504 structures with the standard bank/SBA/borrower split (commonly 50/40/10). Product pages cite minimum about 10% down on many CRE and acquisition uses, with maturities up to 25 years on real estate.
Preferred Lender status does not guarantee approval. Size standards, use of proceeds, equity, and credit still control. Subject to credit approval; speak with an SBA banker before treating a listing as a commitment.
International banking: L/Cs, collections, FX remittance
The international desk markets import, export, and standby letters of credit, inward and outward documentary collections, and foreign-currency outgoing remittances. Education pages explicitly pitch new immigrants and investors bringing assets to the U.S., plus trade and overseas property professionals. The bank also notes that non-U.S. residents may open accounts in many cases with proper documentation.
Trade facilities need underwriting and documents. FX markups drive remittance all-in cost; compare net received against a remittance app for family support. Confirm non-resident document lists at the branch before flying in.
Business Checking from $500 opening
Business Checking opens at $500 with a $15 monthly fee waived at $1,000 average daily balance. Premier Business Checking opens at $1,000 with fee waiver at $2,000 ADB. Analyzed Business Checking is marketed for higher-volume shops that want analysis credits that can offset wire and third-party costs.
Currency deposit fees and per-item charges still apply on some tiers. Confirm the live fee schedule for your state. Online banking enrollment for businesses typically starts in branch.
Elite Checking: $0 monthly fee for students and seniors
Elite Checking waives monthly maintenance and per-item fees for eligible owners age 62 or older, or age 18 or older with a valid student ID. Minimum opening deposit is $100. Useful for campus-age first-gen households and older immigrant parents banking in the same franchise as the family business.
Eligibility rules are age- or student-ID based; bring the qualifying ID. Other accounts (Regular, NOW, money market) still carry regional balance thresholds to waive fees.
Six-state Asian-centric branch network (incl. Hawaii)
RBB’s published map covers Southern California, Las Vegas, New York City metros, Edison, Chicago Chinatown-area branches, and Honolulu. The Hawaii location came from Bank of the Orient’s Honolulu branch purchase in January 2022. A Burlingame loan production office opened in 2026 to deepen Bay Area commercial coverage.
Branch counts and hours change. LPO coverage is lending-focused, not a full retail substitute. Confirm the locator before assuming walk-in deposit service in a new metro.
Next steps
- Immigrant-Owned Small Business Financing Basics
Ownership maps, SBA and bank eligibility, personal guarantees, and backup capital for diaspora restaurants, agencies, clinics, and digital businesses when federal rules and family co-signing overlap.
- Small Business Banking When Your Books Don't Match Mainstream Templates
Why cash-heavy diaspora shops, informal family capital, and bilingual receipts trigger bank friction, and how community lenders, CDFIs, and clean charts of accounts reduce denials before growth stalls.
- Send Money to China From the U.S.
How the U.S.–China remittance corridor works, formal delivery paths, licensed provider types, and planning questions before you send to mainland family.
- Family Support Budget Calculator
Map parent support, remittances, and sibling help against housing, debt, emergency savings, and retirement so family obligations stay visible in your monthly plan.
- Remittance Quote Worksheet
Copy two provider disclosures side by side to compare total paid, amount delivered, effective exchange rate, funding method, and delivery time.
- Household dashboard
Track family support beside U.S. bills and savings once the account is open.
- All planners
Send corridors and inheritance scenarios when banking is only one piece of the file.
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Related bank profiles
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.