Three banking names become one
For Korean American entrepreneurs in Los Angeles during the 1980s, a bank familiar with their businesses and communities could be an important part of establishing a company. The institutions that became Bank of Hope developed around those customers. The bank’s history identifies Center, Nara and Wilshire as its principal roots, then traces the combinations that turned several community franchises into a larger commercial bank. [3]
Center and Nara combined in 2011 to form BBCN Bank. In 2016, BBCN and Wilshire combined under the Bank of Hope name. The story is therefore a sequence of institutions coming together, rather than a single startup suddenly becoming a national business. The FDIC’s current institution record dates the surviving insured bank, certificate 26610, to March 18, 1986; the earlier roots and later branding describe different milestones. [1][3]
Hope Bancorp, Inc. is the publicly traded holding company, while Bank of Hope is its California-chartered banking subsidiary in Los Angeles. The bank’s customers hold deposits at the subsidiary. Shares traded under HOPE represent the parent company. Keeping those identities separate is especially important when reading earnings announcements or descriptions that use the group’s name loosely. [4]
A business bank that follows its customers
The 2025 annual report describes a customer base that has broadened beyond its Korean American origins. Its branch and loan-office network reaches several mainland areas, and it also maintains a representative office in Seoul. The website offers banking applications and services in English and Korean. That language access sits alongside familiar business needs: payments, working capital, property purchases and financing international trade. [4]
A business may borrow to purchase inventory before it receives cash from sales, or use a term loan to finance an acquisition. Bank of Hope provides both short-term revolving facilities and longer-term business loans. Its annual report describes evaluating financial statements, collateral and, for larger exposures, projected cash flows under both base and weaker scenarios. The same customer relationship can include operating deposits, foreign-currency services and treasury management. [4]
Property lending is also central. The disclosed commercial real-estate portfolio spans shopping properties, hotels, warehouses, apartments and other buildings. Many such loans have repayments calculated over a longer period than their actual maturity, leaving a remaining balance to repay or refinance. That structure makes the borrower’s future access to financing relevant as well as the property’s current rent or operating income. [4]
Small-business loans connect lending and fee income
Bank of Hope also makes loans partly guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. A government guarantee covers only the eligible guaranteed portion and does not remove the lender’s underwriting responsibilities. The bank can sell that portion of a qualifying loan while retaining other exposure and continuing to service the customer relationship. [4]
In 2025, the group reported selling $211.4 million of SBA-guaranteed loans and recording $12.5 million of net gains on those sales. The first amount measures loans sold over a year, not a deposit balance or the total SBA portfolio at year-end. This business supplies fee income alongside the interest earned on loans kept on the balance sheet. [4]
Territorial brings Hawaii into the franchise
On April 2, 2025, Hope Bancorp completed its acquisition of Territorial Bancorp. Immediately after the parent merger, Territorial Savings Bank merged into Bank of Hope, which survived as the insured bank. The Hawaiian business continued under the trade name Territorial Savings, a division of Bank of Hope. Preserving the brand did not preserve a separate insured-bank identity. [4]
The acquisition connected a mainland commercial lender with a long-established Hawaiian savings franchise. It brought residential mortgages and deposits into a group already known for business and property lending. For customers, the continuing Territorial name signaled local continuity; legally and financially, those operations became part of the larger bank. The 2025 report records both the acquisition and its effects, rather than leaving the deal at its earlier proposal stage. [3][4]
Leadership and a year shaped by transactions
Kevin S. Kim led the combinations that formed the present group. The current governance biography identifies him as chairman, president and chief executive of Hope Bancorp, and as chairman and chief executive of Bank of Hope. It specifically states that his bank presidency ended March 31, 2026. His earlier career included accounting and 18 years practicing law before he became BBCN Bank’s president and chief executive in 2014. [5]
The parent’s 2025 results also show why acquisition years need careful interpretation. Consolidated net income was $61.6 million, compared with $99.6 million in 2024. Acquisition accounting and merger costs affected the comparison, as did securities sales during a portfolio repositioning. The company separately presented adjusted results excluding selected items; those are management’s non-GAAP measures, not replacements for the reported profit. [4]
The insured bank at June 30, 2026
The FDIC reports $18.987 billion of assets, $15.919 billion of deposits, $14.881 billion of net loans and leases, and $2.355 billion of equity for the insured bank at June 30, 2026. Net income of $69.481 million covers the first six months of 2026. These bank-only figures are converted from thousands of dollars; they are not the parent company’s consolidated results or a standalone second-quarter profit. [2]
Real-estate loans totaled $11.505 billion, or approximately 76.5% of gross loans and leases. That broad regulatory category is not synonymous with commercial real estate. Securities totaled $2.184 billion. These amounts describe the bank’s balance sheet on one date, while the history and business model explain how it arrived there. [2]
Sources
- FDIC institution directory, October 2, 2026 index; reviewed October 5Official sourceBack to text: ↑
- FDIC June 30, 2026 bank financials; dollar fields in thousands; income year to dateOfficial sourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- Bank of Hope official history; reviewed October 5, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3
- Hope Bancorp 2025 Form 10-K, filed February 25, 2026Filing / reportBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6↑7↑8↑9↑10
- Hope Bancorp current Kevin S. Kim biography; April 1, 2026 role change; reviewed October 5SourceBack to text: ↑