East West Bancorp Inc., the holding company of East West Bank, on Wednesday reported 24 percent growth in third-quarter net income on solid loan development, and raised its 2006 profit forecast.

Earnings, which were in line with the Wall Street consensus, grew to $35.6 million (58 cents per share) from $28.6 million (52 cents) in the same period a year ago. Noninterest income rose 4 percent $8.1 million.

Net interest income rose 33 percent to $95.4 million, as the bank’s loan portfolio increased by $574 million to $8.4 billion. Conversely, interest margin fell 8 percent to 3.89 percent. Banks have seen their margins squeezed as short-term rates rise sharply while long-term rates have remained relatively stagnant.

East West raised its full-year earnings expectations to a range of $2.30 to $2.31 per share, in line with analyst expectations, from an earlier estimate of $2.28 to $2.30.

Total deposits at the end of the quarter were $7.10 billion, up 18 percent from the end of last year. East West is Los Angeles County’s second largest bank based on assets, and the county’s largest ethnic bank.