Hope Bancorp Receives Nasdaq Notice

LOS ANGELES, March 24, 2017 -- Hope Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ:HOPE), the holding company of Bank of Hope (the “Bank”), today announced that on March 21, 2017 it received a notification letter from Nasdaq Listing Qualifications (the “Notification Letter”) stating that because the Company has not yet filed its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (the “2016 10-K”), the Company is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Notification Letter has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

The Notification Letter noted that, under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, the Company has 60 calendar days to submit a plan to regain compliance. If accepted, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel may grant the Company an exception period of up to 180 days from its original due date, or September 12, 2017, to file the 2016 10-K.

About Hope Bancorp, Inc.

Hope Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company of Bank of Hope, the first and only super regional Korean-American bank in the United States with $13.4 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2016. Formed through the merger of BBCN Bank and Wilshire Bank, the top two commercial lenders in the market, Bank of Hope is headquartered in Los Angeles and serves a multi-ethnic population of customers across the nation. Bank of Hope operates 73 full-service branches in California, Washington, Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and Alabama. The Bank also operates SBA loan production offices in Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, and Portland, Oregon; a commercial loan production office in Fremont, California; residential mortgage loan production offices in California; and a representative office in Seoul, Korea. Bank of Hope specializes in core business banking products for small and medium-sized businesses, with an emphasis in commercial real estate and commercial lending, SBA lending and international trade financing. Bank of Hope is a California-chartered bank, and its deposits are insured by the FDIC to the extent provided by law. Bank of Hope is an Equal Opportunity Lender. For additional information, please go to bankofhope.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, assumptions, known and unknown risks, and uncertainties and typically include words or variations of words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “goal,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “objective,” “forecast,” “target,” “potential,” “continue,” “would,” “will,” “should,” “could,” or “may” or other comparable terms and phrases.

Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the additional time that may be granted for the Company to regain compliance with the Nasdaq rules; the Company’s ability and time required to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s rules; and the progress, outcome and timing of completing the 2016 10-K. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations as of the date of this press release and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the extent and impact of delays in the Company’s completion of its 2016 10-K; whether the Company will be granted additional time to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements; the Company’s ability to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements; as well as additional factors we have described in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The risks included above are not exhaustive. Other factors that could adversely affect our business and prospects are described in the filings made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

Contact:
Angie Yang
SVP, Director of Investor Relations &
Corporate Communications
213-251-2219
[email protected]