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Hope Bancorp Reports 2019 Fourth Quarter Financial Results
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hope Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HOPE), the holding company of Bank of Hope (the “Bank”), today reported unaudited
About this update from Hope Bancorp, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nHope Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HOPE), the holding company of Bank of Hope (the “Bank”), today reported unaudited financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019.\n\n\nFor the three months ended December 31, 2019, net income totaled $43.0 million, or $0.34 per diluted common share. This compares with net income of $42.6 million, or $0.34 per diluted common share, in the 2019 third quarter and $44.4 million, or $0.35 per diluted common share, in the 2018 fourth quarter. For 2019, net income totaled $171.0 million, or $1.35 per diluted common share, compared with 2018 net income of $189.6 million, or $1.44 per diluted common share.\n\n\n“We are pleased to have completed the year with another solid quarter that underscores the consistent progress we are making with our strategic initiatives,” said Kevin S. Kim, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hope Bancorp, Inc. “Most notably, we continued to see a favorable shift in our deposit base to lower costing core deposits, which contributed to a considerable reduction in our total cost of deposits, the first decrease we have seen in three years. We also originated a record level of $848 million in new loans, which continues to represent a well-balanced mix of commercial real estate, commercial and consumer loans and led to a second consecutive quarter of organic loan growth. Noninterest expenses remain well contained at 1.85% of total assets, notwithstanding the ongoing investments we continue to make in our organization. And our active buyback of 943,094 shares under our current share repurchase plan underscores our ongoing commitment to enhance shareholder returns.\n\n\n“We move forward into 2020 with strong conviction that we have the right strategies in place given the current stage of the economic growth cycle and the lower interest rate environment that we are operating in. With the progress we have made in controlling our deposit costs, the growing contribution of the higher-rate SBA loans in our portfolio, and assuming no further changes in the Fed Funds rate this year, we believe we are positioned to begin seeing some margin expansion by the second half of the year, which will ultimately improve our ability to further enhance returns and profitability.”\n\n\nQ4 2019 Highlights\n\n\n\nRecord ne...