FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Expires: January 31, 2005 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5

(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Liu Chang 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 02/01/2019 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP [CATY] (Last) (First) (Middle) 777 NORTH BROADWAY 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) EVP, Chief Operating Officer 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) LOS ANGELES, CA 90012 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock 500 D Â

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
	Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Restricted Stock Units	  (2)	  (2)	Common Stock	342	$ (1)	D	Â
Restricted Stock Units	  (3)	  (3)	Common Stock	2,688	$ (1)	D	Â
Restricted Stock Units	  (4)	  (4)	Common Stock	2,899	$ (1)	D	Â
Restricted Stock Units	  (5)	  (5)	Common Stock	3,354	$ (1)	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Liu Chang 777 NORTH BROADWAY LOS ANGELES, CA 90012	Â	Â	  EVP, Chief Operating Officer	Â

Signatures

/s/ Georgia Lo, attorney-in-fact		02/01/2019
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Each restricted stock unit represents a contingent right to receive one share of Common Stock of the Issuer.
(2)	On March 9, 2018, the Issuer granted to the Reporting Person 342 restricted stock units that will vest, in full, on March 9, 2019, or immediately upon the death, disability or retirement of the Reporting Person, or a change in control of the Issuer.
(3)	These restricted stock units are scheduled to fully vest on June 9, 2019, or earlier in the event of death, disability, retirement, or change in control.
(4)	These restricted stock units are scheduled to fully vest on March 9, 2020, or earlier in the event of death, disability, retirement, or change in control.
(5)	These restricted stock units are scheduled to fully vest on March 9, 2021, or earlier in the event of death, disability, retirement, or change in control.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB number.