Hanmi Announces Upcoming Retirement of Chief Executive Officer from Bank in May 2019 and Promotion of Chief Operating Officer...
June 15 2018 - 4:08PM
Hanmi Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:HAFC)
(“Hanmi”), the holding company for Hanmi Bank (the “Bank”), today
announced that Mr. C. G. Kum, Chief Executive Officer, will retire
from the Bank in May of 2019. In addition, the Bank’s Chief
Operating Officer Bonnie Lee has been promoted to President to help
facilitate a smooth transition and continue the Bank’s strong
momentum in executing its strategic direction. The Board of
Directors has commenced an executive search to identify Mr. Kum’s
successor and intends to conduct a deliberate review of internal
and external candidates who can build on the Bank’s accomplishments
under Mr. Kum’s leadership.
“C. G. and Bonnie have been integral in driving
the Bank’s transformation over the past five years, including
improving its financial performance and broadening our customer
base to serve immigrant communities beyond our core Korean-American
market,” said Hanmi’s Chairman, Joseph K. Rho. “In light of these
substantial accomplishments, we thank C. G. for all he has achieved
during his tenure and look forward to continue working with him
until his retirement from the Bank in May of next year.”
Mr. Rho continued, “The Board is also delighted
to announce the promotion of Bonnie who, in addition to her
responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer, will now serve as the
Bank’s President. Bonnie’s exceptional knowledge of the Bank’s key
markets and proven leadership have been key drivers of the Bank’s
successful transformation. We are confident Bonnie will
continue to play an integral role in our future success.”
“It has been a privilege to lead Hanmi Bank, one
that serves as a financial pillar for immigrant families and
businesses in communities across the country,” said Mr. Kum. “My
decision to retire from the Bank has not been an easy one, but
after careful consideration, I believe it is the right time for me
to make this change. I am proud of what our management team has
been able to accomplish over the past five years and am confident
in the strong condition of the bank, which will continue to be
supported by our strategic plan,” Mr. Kum added. “Over the next
year, I will remain actively involved as CEO and a member of the
Board and look forward to working closely with Bonnie to continue
executing on our strategic plan.”
Ms. Lee joined Hanmi as Chief Operating Officer
in 2013, with nearly 15 years of executive-level experience within
the banking industry. Her deep understanding of the Bank’s
business, combined with her new role as President, makes her
well-positioned to help facilitate a smooth transition while
enabling Hanmi to continue executing on its growth plan.
“Working closely with C. G., the Board and
management team over the past five years has given me an
unparalleled understanding of Hanmi’s business and financial
operations,” said Ms. Lee. “I am confident that we will remain true
to our strategic plan and propel Hanmi into its next phase of
growth and success. I look forward to continuing to work with both
C. G. and the Board over the coming months as we continue to
execute on our vision.”
About Hanmi Financial
CorporationHeadquartered in Los Angeles, California, Hanmi
Financial Corporation owns Hanmi Bank, which serves multi-ethnic
communities through its network of 40 full-service branches and 9
loan production offices in California, Texas, Illinois, Virginia,
New Jersey, New York, Colorado, Washington and Georgia. Hanmi Bank
specializes in real estate, commercial, SBA and trade finance
lending to small and middle market businesses. Additional
information is available at www.hanmi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements This
press release contains forward-looking statements, which are
included in accordance with the “safe harbor” provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as
“may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,”
“anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or
“continue,” or the negative of such terms and other comparable
terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in
the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee
future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
All statements other than statements of historical fact are
“forward–looking statements” for purposes of federal and state
securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements about
anticipated future operating and financial performance, financial
position and liquidity, business strategies, regulatory and
competitive outlook, investment and expenditure plans, capital and
financing needs and availability, plans and objectives of
management for future operations, developments regarding our
capital plans, strategic alternatives for a possible business
combination, merger or sale transaction, and other similar
forecasts and statements of expectation and statements of
assumption underlying any of the foregoing. These statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance
or achievements to differ from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statement. These factors include the following:
failure to maintain adequate levels of capital and liquidity to
support our operations; the effect of potential future supervisory
action against us or Hanmi Bank; general economic and business
conditions internationally, nationally and in those areas in which
we operate; volatility and deterioration in the credit and equity
markets; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings
habits; availability of capital from private and government
sources; demographic changes; competition for loans and deposits
and failure to attract or retain loans and deposits; fluctuations
in interest rates and a decline in the level of our interest rate
spread; risks of natural disasters related to our real estate
portfolio; risks associated with Small Business Administration
loans; failure to attract or retain key employees; changes in
governmental regulation, including, but not limited to, any
increase in FDIC insurance premiums; ability of Hanmi Bank to make
distributions to Hanmi Financial Corporation, which is restricted
by certain factors, including Hanmi Bank’s retained earnings, net
income, prior distributions made, and certain other financial
tests; ability to identify a suitable strategic partner or to
consummate a strategic transaction; adequacy of our allowance for
loan and lease losses; credit quality and the effect of credit
quality on our provision for loan and lease losses and allowance
for loan and lease losses; changes in the financial performance
and/or condition of our borrowers and the ability of our borrowers
to perform under the terms of their loans and other terms of credit
agreements; our ability to control expenses; and changes in
securities markets. In addition, we set forth certain risks in our
reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
including, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2017, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and
Current Reports on Form 8-K that we will file hereafter, which
could cause actual results to differ from those projected. We
undertake no obligation to update such forward-looking statements
except as required by law.
Contacts:
Romolo (Ron) SantarosaSenior Executive Vice President &
Chief Financial Officer213-427-5636
Richard PimentelSenior Vice President & Corporate Finance
Officer213-427-3191
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