Hello, and welcome to the Annual Shareholders Meeting of East West Bancorp. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. During the meeting, we will have a question and answer session. You can submit questions or comments at any time by clicking on the Q&A tab. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to Doug Krause, Vice Chairman and Chief Corporate Officer of East West Bancorp. Mr. Krause, the floor is yours.
Thank you, operator. Good afternoon. Welcome to the Annual Shareholders Meeting of East West Bancorp. I am Doug Krause, Vice Chairman and Chief Corporate Officer of East West Bancorp, and today I am also the Inspector of Elections. We will first conduct the formal agenda items for the annual meeting, which I anticipate will be brief. Following these items, Dominic Ng, Chairman and CEO of East West Bancorp, will give a brief presentation on our company. We will then answer any questions from shareholders. If any shareholders have questions of general interest relating to the business before this meeting, please submit them now via the virtual meeting website before voting begins so that they can be compiled and answered. I would like to thank you in advance for your attendance today. A quorum is present, so I will now officially call the meeting to order.
Let me start by introducing our directors who are in attendance at this virtual meeting. Manuel Alvarez, Peter Babej, Molly Campbell, Archana Deskus, Serge Dumont, Mark Hutchins, Paul H. Irving, Sabrina Kay, Jack Liu, Lester Sussman, and Dominic Ng, our Chairman. Members of East West's management team and representatives of KPMG, our independent auditors, are also in attendance. First order of business is the notice of annual meeting of shareholders. Notice of annual meeting of shareholders indicates that the annual meeting of shareholders will be held for the following purposes. One, election of directors. Two, to approve on an advisory basis executive compensation for 2025. Three, to approve the amendment and restatement of the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan. Four, to approve the adoption of the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Five, ratify KPMG as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for this year.
Notice of meeting has been e-mailed to all shareholders. Polls are now open on the proposals in the proxy statement mailed to each shareholder of record. I'd like to express my appreciation to all of the shareholders attending the meeting today, and to all of the shareholders who returned their proxies. If anyone in virtual attendance did not return their proxy, please submit your vote now via the virtual meeting website. Additionally, any shareholder attending the meeting today who has previously returned a proxy and would like to revoke that proxy for any reason, please resubmit your vote now via the virtual meeting website. Thank you everyone. I now declare the polls closed. Results of the votes submitted by valid proxy were tabulated prior to this meeting.
The holders of more than majority of our shares have voted for all of the director nominees set forth in the proxies set forth in the proxy. The nominees accordingly have now been duly elected as directors of East West Bancorp to serve until their respective successors, elected and qualified. Four, the advisory vote regarding the compensation of the company's named executive officers for 2025. Four, the amendment and restatement of the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan. Four, the adoption of the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Four, the ratification of KPMG as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31st, 2026. There being no further business, the formal portion of the meeting is now adjourned. I would now like to welcome Dominic Ng, our Chairman and CEO, to provide a brief business update and answer any questions that may have been submitted.
Thank you, Doug. I would like to thank everyone for joining us in our virtual annual meeting, including our auditors and directors. Now I will provide a brief update of our company's performance beginning with slide seven presentation. 2025 was another record-breaking year for East West. We set new record levels for revenue and interest income, fees, non-interest income, earnings per share, and loans and deposits. 2025, we achieved balanced loan growth and continued to expand our base of non-interest-bearing deposits. We produced consistent top-tier returns for shareholders again. 2025, East West generated a 17% return on average tangible common equity, a 1.7% return on average assets, with an efficiency level that remained best in class. We also increased our quarterly dividend in the first quarter of 2026 by $0.20, or 33% to $0.80 per share.
Overall, East West 2025 results reflect how our business model is designed to deliver meaningful value to clients. Especially during periods of uncertainty when our ability to navigate challenging landscapes matters most. Moving on to slide eight. We have been and will continue to be prudent stewards of shareholders' capital. We have grown tangible book value per share by 13% and dividends per share by 16% annualized over the past four years. On the bottom left of the slide was total shareholder return over the past one, three, five years, all well above our peer median. Total shareholder return is the price appreciation of shares, assuming reinvestments of dividends. On the bottom right of the slide is a summary of our capital return to shareholders since 2021. Slide nine, a few highlights from our first quarter financial results.
At another record quarter for loans, deposits, and fee income. Our depositors continued to place their trust in us. C&I loans grew as utilization increased. Our wealth management business set a new record, being closely engaged with our clients in a dynamic market environment. Turning to slide 10 for a quick look at East West Bank today. Now stands at over $83 billion in assets and increasingly diversified and granular balance sheet. Performance has earned us top ranks from Bank Director and American Banker. We are well-positioned to sustain our top performance. Although the economic environment remains somewhat uncertain, our experience has taught us to confront challenges from a position of strength, move forward with a diversified balance sheet, granular, strong consumer banking network, top-tier profitability, best-in-class operating efficiency, amongst the highest levels of capital in the banking industry.
We have the capital and balance sheet flexibility to take care of our customers in the environment. We are well-positioned to capitalize on any opportunities the year ahead. We'll now respond to any questions submitted to our Moderator and Vice Chairman, Douglas . Doug?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I show no questions from shareholders via the website.
Okay. Thank you, Doug. This concludes our annual meeting. Thank you everyone for attending and participating in our 2026 Annual Shareholder Meeting. Thank you for your support as shareholders. We hope happy customers. Operator.
This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.