UPDATE 2-East West shares slide on weak Q1; outlook suspension

(Adds details, analysts' comments, conference call details, updates share movement)

By Supantha Mukherjee

BANGALORE, April 16 (Reuters) - Shares of East West Bancorp Inc (EWBC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 16 percent to touch a 52-week low Wednesday, a day after the bank posted an 88 percent drop in first-quarter profit, due to a huge amount it set aside to cover bad loans in its residential real estate portfolio.

East West also suspended its 2008 earnings view, saying its current outlook does not hold good given the uncertainty surrounding the economy and the real estate market.

The company's shares were trading down $1.74 to $14.11 in afternoon trade on Nasdaq, after hitting an intra-day low of $13.33.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Joe Morford said by phone that he does not expect the company to restore outlook before 2009.

The company had previously forecast 2008 earnings of $2.05 to $2.10 a share, below analysts' estimates of $2.55 a share.

The earnings announcement prompted RBC Capital Markets to lower its rating to "sector perform" from "outperform".

RBC analyst Joe Morford also cut its price target on the stock to $12 from $22.