Hanmi Reports Third Quarter 2022 Results

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: HAFC, or “Hanmi”), the parent company of Hanmi Bank (the “Bank”), today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2022.

Net income for the third quarter of 2022 was $27.2 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, up 8.5% from $25.1 million, or $0.82 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2022. The sequential quarter increase in net income reflects growth in net interest income, carefully managed noninterest expenses and a modest credit loss expense. Return on average assets and return on average equity for the third quarter of 2022 were 1.52% and 15.58%, respectively.

CEO Commentary

“Our team delivered exceptional third quarter results by building on the positive momentum we have gained over the past year,” said Bonnie Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanmi Financial Corporation. “Our solid earnings reflected continued strong loan production, an increased net interest margin, excellent asset quality, and well managed expenses. This exceptional performance for both the quarter and year-to-date has put us on track to deliver another year of strong financial results for 2022.”

“Our strategic initiatives to diversify our business are fueling growth across our loan and lease portfolio in an increasingly competitive lending environment. We delivered strong net loan growth of 2.6% in the third quarter with solid production across most of our loan categories, particularly in our Corporate Korea, residential mortgage and equipment finance groups. This loan growth was more than funded by the increase in our deposits during the quarter, which were up 3.7% sequentially. We are proud of the deposit franchise that we have built over the years, with a focus on pursuing new customers and expanding our existing relationships. As a result, noninterest-bearing deposits comprised 45% of total deposits at quarter end.”

“Despite the current uncertain macroeconomic environment, we enter the fourth quarter with cautious optimism. Our loan pipeline remains solid, our net interest margin is healthy, our credit quality is excellent, and our expenses are well managed. We remain focused on continuing to drive disciplined growth and deliver attractive returns for our shareholders.”

Third Quarter 2022 Highlights:        

• Third quarter net income increased 8.5% to $27.2 million, or $0.89 per diluted share from $25.1 million, or $0.82 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2022.
• Loans receivable grew to $5.80 billion at September 30, 2022, up 2.6% sequentially from the end of the second quarter and 12.6% from year-end as loan production returned to more historical levels at $492.3 million for the third quarter.
• Deposits grew to $6.20 billion at September 30, 2022, up 3.7% sequentially from the end of the second quarter and 7.2% from year-end; noninterest-bearing demand deposits were relatively unchanged sequentially and were 44.7% of the deposit portfolio at quarter end.
• Net interest income was $63.1 million for the third quarter, up 6.8% from $59.0 million for the second quarter as interest-earning assets increased 2.7% sequentially to $6.85 billion and net interest margin increased.
• Net interest margin (taxable-equivalent) increased 11 basis points to 3.66% for the third quarter, from 3.55% in the second quarter; the yield on loans increased 36 basis points sequentially while the cost of interest-bearing deposits increased 47 basis points.
• Credit loss expense was $0.6 million for the third quarter and the allowance for credit losses was $71.6 million at September 30, 2022; the ratio of the allowance to loans was 1.23%.
• Nonaccrual loans were $11.6 million and nonperforming assets were 0.17% of total assets at September 30, 2022 – both essentially unchanged from the end of the second quarter.
• Noninterest income for the third quarter was $8.9 million, down 4.3% sequentially from the second quarter, largely on lower SBA gain on sale income due to lower trade premiums.
• Noninterest expense was $33.3 million for the third quarter, up $1.8 million from the second quarter; however, the efficiency ratio for the third quarter remained relatively unchanged at 46.22% for the third quarter.
• Hanmi’s tangible common equity to tangible assets was 8.40% at the end of the third quarter and it had a Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.19% and a Total capital ratio of 14.36%.

For more information about Hanmi, please see the Q3 2022 Investor Update (and Supplemental Financial Information), which is available on the Bank’s website at www.hanmi.com and via a current report on Form 8-K on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. Also, please refer to “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” herein for further details of the presentation of certain non-GAAP financial measures.

Quarterly Highlights
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

Results of Operations
Net interest income was $63.1 million for the third quarter of 2022 compared with $59.0 million for the second quarter of 2022. Third quarter interest and fees on loans receivable increased 11.9%, or $7.1 million, from the preceding quarter primarily due to a 2.2% increase in the average balance of loans receivable and a 36 basis point increase in average loan yields. Interest on securities in the second quarter increased $0.3 million from the second quarter due to an $11.7 million increase in the average balance and a 13 basis point increase in the average yield. Third quarter loan prepayment penalties were $0.2 million compared with $0.5 million for the second quarter. Total interest expense for the third quarter increased $4.2 million from the preceding quarter primarily due to a 4.3% increase in the average balance of total interest-bearing liabilities and a 44 basis point increase in the average rate paid on total interest-bearing liabilities.

Net interest margin (taxable-equivalent) was 3.66% for the third quarter, up 11 basis points from the second quarter. The improvement was primarily due to an increase in interest-earning asset yields because of the higher level of interest rates, partially offset by a 47 basis point increase in the cost of interest-bearing deposits, also due to the increase in rates, as well as a shift in the composition of those deposits.

The yield on loans for the third quarter of 2022 increased 36 basis points to 4.67% from 4.31% for the second quarter of 2022 as average loans for the quarter increased 2.2% and average residential real estate loans grew to 10.1% of the average loan portfolio from 8.3% in the prior quarter.   Average interest-bearing deposits in other banks grew by 32.9% quarter-over-quarter to $181.4 million from $136.5 million and the yield on those assets increased by 152 basis points. Overall, average interest-earning assets for the third quarter increased 2.7% sequentially to $6.85 billion and the yield on those assets increased by 35 basis points to 4.15% from 3.80% in the prior quarter.

The cost of interest-bearing deposits increased 47 basis points to 0.78% for the third quarter compared with 0.31% for the previous quarter as a result of higher interest rates as well as a higher proportion of time deposits relative to total deposits. The total cost of deposits increased 26 basis points to 0.43% for the third quarter compared with 0.17% for the second quarter while the average balance on noninterest-bearing deposits remained relatively unchanged at 44.7% of the deposit portfolio.

For the third quarter of 2022, Hanmi recorded a $0.6 million credit loss expense comprised of a $0.4 million negative provision for loan losses and a $1.0 million positive provision for off-balance sheet items. For the second quarter of 2022, the Company recorded a $1.6 million credit loss expense comprised of a $1.6 million positive provision for loan losses and a $45,000 negative provision for off-balance sheet items.

Third quarter 2022 noninterest income declined to $8.9 million from $9.3 million for the second quarter of 2022 due to a $0.5 million decrease in gains on the sale of SBA 7(a) loans, a $0.3 million decrease in trade finance and other service charges and fees, and a $0.3 million increase in other operating income. The volume of SBA loans sold in the third quarter increased to $43.7 million from $41.9 million for the second quarter while trade premiums declined to 6.67% for the third quarter from 7.97% for the second quarter.

Noninterest expense increased by 5.7% to $33.3 million for the third quarter of 2022 from $31.5 million for the second quarter. Salaries and employee benefits expense increased by $0.6 million reflecting primarily lower deferred costs resulting from decreased loan production. Advertising and promotion expense increased $0.5 million because of increased marketing activity. Data processing expense increased by $0.2 million, occupancy and equipment expense increased by $0.1 million, and supplies and communications expense increased by $0.1 million. The efficiency ratio for the third quarter remained relatively unchanged at 46.22%.

Hanmi recorded a provision for income taxes of $11.0 million for the third quarter of 2022, representing an effective tax rate of 28.8%, compared with $10.2 million, representing an effective tax rate of 29.0% for the second quarter. The effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2022 was 28.9% compared to 29.3% for the first nine months of 2021.

Financial Position
Total assets at September 30, 2022 increased 2.5%, or $172.5 million, to $7.13 billion from $6.96 billion at June 30, 2022. The increase reflects a 2.6%, or $145.6 million, growth in loans receivable as well as a $58.0 million increase in cash and due from banks. Loans receivable, before the allowance for credit losses, were $5.80 billion at September 30, 2022, up from $5.66 billion at June 30, 2022. Loans held for sale, representing the guaranteed portion of SBA 7(a) loans, were $10.0 million at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared with $18.5 million at the end of the second quarter.

New loan production was $492.3 million for the third quarter at an average rate of 5.55% while $139.9 million of loans paid-off during the quarter at an average rate of 5.26%.

Commercial real estate loan production for the third quarter was $132.9 million. Commercial and industrial loan production was $88.0 million, SBA loan production was $44.9 million, equipment finance production was $86.1 million and residential mortgage loan production was $140.4 million. The strong loan growth for the third quarter was more than funded by the increase in total deposits, which grew by $222.0 million in the quarter.

Deposits were $6.20 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2022, up $222.0 million, or 3.7%, from $5.98 billion at the end of the preceding quarter. The change was primarily driven by a $276.8 million increase in time deposits partially offset by a $45.4 million decline in money market and savings deposits and an $11.2 million decrease in noninterest-bearing demand deposits. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits represented 44.7% of total deposits at September 30, 2022 and the loan-to-deposit ratio was 93.5%.

Stockholders’ equity at September 30, 2022 was $608.9 million compared with $618.3 million at June 30, 2022. The sequential decline was primarily due to the $29.5 million unrealized after-tax loss due to changes in the value of the securities portfolio resulting from increases in interest rates during the quarter which outpaced the $19.5 million contribution of third quarter net income less dividends. Tangible common stockholders’ equity was $597.6 million, or 8.40% of tangible assets, at September 30, 2022, compared with $607.0 million, or 8.74% of tangible assets at the end of the second quarter. Tangible book value per share decreased to $19.60 at September 30, 2022 from $19.91 at the end of the prior quarter.

Hanmi and the Bank exceeded the minimum regulatory capital requirements and the Bank continues to exceed the minimum for the “well capitalized” category. At September 30, 2022, Hanmi’s preliminary Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 11.19% and its Total risk-based capital ratio was 14.36% compared with 11.07% and 14.31%, respectively, at the end of the second quarter of 2022.

Asset Quality
Loans 30 to 89 days past due and still accruing were 0.09% of loans at the end of the third quarter of 2022, compared with 0.07% at the end of the prior quarter.

Special mention loans were $123.0 million at the end of the third quarter, up from $80.5 million at June 30, 2022. The increase includes a $41.1 million current loan relationship due to turnover in executive management at the borrower and delays in receipt of acceptable business borrowing certificates under an asset-based lending facility. The loan relationship is comprised of a $25.0 million asset-based line of credit (of which $18.0 million was outstanding at quarter-end), a $13.5 million commercial real estate loan and a $9.6 million commercial term loan. We are actively working with the borrower’s new management team to ensure satisfactory performance under the loan agreements. Additionally, the quarter-over-quarter change included increases from downgrades of pass loans of $10.0 million and upgrades from classified loans of $1.1 million. Reductions included upgrades to pass of $9.2 million and paydowns of $0.5 million.

Classified loans were $47.7 million at September 30, 2022, down from $53.0 million at the end of the second quarter.

Nonperforming loans were $11.6 million at September 30, 2022, up from $11.0 million at the end of the second quarter. As a percentage of the loan portfolio, nonperforming loans remained unchanged sequentially at 0.20%.

Nonperforming assets were $12.4 million at the end of the third quarter of 2022, up from $11.7 million at the end of the prior quarter. As a percentage of total assets, nonperforming assets also were unchanged sequentially at 0.17%.

Gross charge-offs for the third quarter of 2022 were $2.1 million compared with $0.6 million for the preceding quarter. Recoveries of previously charged-off loans for the third quarter of 2022 were $1.0 million, compared with $0.5 million for the prior quarter. As a result, there were net charge-offs of $1.1 million for the third quarter of 2022, compared with net charge-offs of $0.1 million for the prior quarter. For the third quarter of 2022, net charge-offs represented 0.08% of average loans on an annualized basis compared with net charge-offs of 0.01% of average loans for the second quarter on an annualized basis.

The allowance for credit losses was $71.6 million at September 30, 2022, down $1.5 million from $73.1 million at June 30, 2022. The ratio of the allowance for credit losses to loans declined to 1.23% at the end of the third quarter, compared to 1.29% at the end of the second quarter. Specific allowances for loans increased $0.2 million while the allowance for quantitative and qualitative considerations decreased $1.7 million.

Corporate Developments
On July 28, 2022, Hanmi’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend on its common stock for the 2022 third quarter of $0.25 per share. The dividend was paid on August 24, 2022, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 8, 2022.

Earnings Conference Call        
Hanmi Bank will host its third quarter 2022 earnings conference call today, October 25, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. EST) to discuss these results. This call will also be webcast. To access the event the call, please dial 1-877-407-9039 before 2:00 p.m. PST, using access code Hanmi Bank. To listen to the call online, either live or archived, please visit Hanmi’s Investor Relations website at www.hanmi.com.

About Hanmi Financial Corporation
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Hanmi Financial Corporation owns Hanmi Bank, which serves multi-ethnic communities through its network of 35 full-service branches and eight 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. 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 our 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 and strategic plans, and other similar forecasts and statements of expectation and statements of assumption underlying any of the foregoing. 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 our forward-looking statements to be reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

Forward-looking 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 statements. These factors include the following:

• a 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;
• the effect of our rating under the Community Reinvestment Act and our ability to address any issues raised in our regulatory exams;
• 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;
• inflation and fluctuations in interest rates and a decline in the level of our interest rate spread;
• the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, terrorism or other geopolitical events;
• risks of natural disasters;
• legal proceedings and litigation brought against us;
• a failure in or breach of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, including cyberattacks;
• the failure to maintain current technologies;
• the inability to successfully implement future information technology enhancements;
• difficult business and economic conditions that can adversely affect our industry and business, including competition, fraudulent activity and negative publicity;
• risks associated with Small Business Administration loans;
• failure to attract or retain key employees;
• our ability to access cost-effective funding;
• fluctuations in real estate values;
• changes in accounting policies and practices;
• changes in governmental regulation, including, but not limited to, any increase in FDIC insurance premiums;
• the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of operation;
• the 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;
• strategic transactions we may enter into;
• the adequacy of our allowance for credit losses;
• our credit quality and the effect of credit quality on our credit losses expense and allowance for credit 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;
• changes in securities markets; and
• risks as it relates to cyber security against our information technology and those of our third-party providers and vendors.

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, 2021, 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.

Investor Contacts:
Romolo (Ron) Santarosa
Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
213-427-5636

Larry Clark, CFA
Investor Relations
Financial Profiles, Inc.
lclark@finprofiles.com
310-622-8223

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