EXHIBIT 99.1

Hanmi Reports 2022 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Record full year earnings, loan production, and significant improvements in asset quality

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: HAFC, or “Hanmi”), the parent company of Hanmi Bank (the “Bank”), today reported financial results for the 2022 fourth quarter and full year.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $28.5 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, up 4.8% from $27.2 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2022. The fourth quarter included a $1.5 million increase in net interest income and a $0.5 million reduction in credit loss expense, offset by a $1.4 million decrease in noninterest income and a $0.5 million increase in noninterest expense. In addition, income tax expense for the fourth quarter included a $1.4 million benefit due to a lower effective tax rate. Return on average assets and return on average equity for the fourth quarter of 2022 were 1.56% and 15.90%, respectively.

For the full year 2022, net income was $101.4 million, or $3.32 per diluted share, compared with $98.7 million, or $3.22 per diluted share, for the full year of 2021. The year-over-year improvement in net income reflects a $42.6 million, or 21.8%, increase in net interest income, offset by a $25.2 million reduction in the benefit from the year-ago credit loss expense recovery, a $6.3 million, or 15.5%, decrease in noninterest income and a $5.8 million, or 4.7%, increase in noninterest expense. Return on average assets and return on average equity for the full year 2022 were 1.44% and 14.83%, respectively.

CEO Commentary

“We delivered another quarter of solid results, capping off our fiscal year with strong momentum, delivering full year record net income and loan production, and an improved net interest margin, all while diligently managing our operating expenses and significantly improving our asset quality,” said Bonnie Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanmi Financial Corporation. “Over the course of the year, we successfully executed on our strategic initiatives, including further diversifying our loan portfolio, strengthening our relationships with existing customers, expanding our customer base and bolstering our core deposit franchise.

“We enter 2023 with a strong balance sheet and a demonstrated ability to manage through challenging times. Importantly, asset quality remains very healthy as we have been proactive with our customers, keeping open lines of communication and we stand ready to navigate this uncertain macroeconomic environment. We remain focused on continuing to build upon our foundation for prudent growth while strengthening the Hanmi franchise, all with the view of delivering attractive returns to our shareholders.

“I want to thank the entire Hanmi team for their exceptional work this year, which generated positive results for our customers and our shareholders. We just celebrated our 40^th anniversary, an important milestone for our company. We look forward to building upon this storied history with a continued commitment to helping our customers reach their financial goals and, ultimately, strengthening the communities we call home.”

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights:        

• Fourth quarter net income was $28.5 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, up 4.8% from $27.2 million, or $0.89 per diluted share for the third quarter; full year 2022 net income increased 2.8% to $101.4 million, or $3.32 per diluted share from $98.7 million, or $3.22 per share for 2021.
• Loans receivable increased 2.9% from September 30, 2022 to $5.97 billion at December 31, 2022 and 15.8% from year-end 2021; fourth quarter loan production was $473.8 million and reached $2.12 billion for the full year – 17.1% higher than 2021 when excluding 2021 second-draw Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans.
• Deposits were $6.17 billion at December 31, 2022, down 0.5% from the third quarter and up 6.6% year-over-year; the mix of noninterest-bearing deposits remained strong at 41.2% of deposits at year-end.
• Net interest income was up 2.3% sequentially from the third quarter, or $1.5 million, to $64.6 million for the fourth quarter and the net interest margin was 3.67%, up one basis point sequentially.
• Fourth quarter noninterest income was $7.5 million, down $1.4 million from the previous quarter; lower SBA gain on sale income due to lower trade premiums and lower service charge and other fee income contributed to the decline as did a valuation adjustment to bank-owned life insurance.
• Noninterest expense was $33.8 million, up 1.7% sequentially from the previous quarter, or $0.5 million; the efficiency ratio increased slightly to 46.99%, from 46.22% in the third quarter.
• Fourth quarter credit loss expense was $0.1 million; the allowance for credit losses was $71.5 million and the ratio of the allowance to loans was 1.20%.
• Criticized loans declined 26.7% sequentially from the third quarter to $125.2 million or 2.1% of loans at year-end; nonperforming assets declined 19.5% sequentially to $10.0 million or 0.14% of total assets at December 31, 2022 and declined 29.0% from year-end 2021.
• Hanmi’s ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets was 8.50% at December 31, 2022 and it had a Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.37% and a Total capital ratio of 14.49%.
  

For more information about Hanmi, please see the Q4 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.

Results of Operations
Net interest income for the fourth quarter increased $1.5 million to $64.6 million from $63.1 million for the third quarter of 2022, up 2.3%. The increase reflected primarily a 3.2% increase in average loans as the increase in the cost of interest-bearing deposits essentially offset the increase in average loan yields. Average loans were $5.88 billion for the 2022 fourth quarter compared with $5.70 billion for the 2022 third quarter. The yield on average loans for the 2022 fourth quarter increased 54 basis points to 5.21% from 4.67% for the 2022 third quarter while the cost of interest-bearing deposits increased 92 basis points to 1.70% from 0.78% for the 2022 third quarter. Fourth quarter loan prepayment fees were $0.1 million compared with $0.2 million for the third quarter. Net interest margin (taxable-equivalent) for the fourth quarter was 3.67% compared with 3.66% for the third quarter of 2022.

Net interest income was $237.6 million for the full year 2022 compared with $195.1 million for 2021, up 21.8%. The increase reflected the rise in the general level of interest rates during 2022 as well as the increase in average interest-earning assets and the change in asset composition to higher-yielding loans from lower-yielding deposits at banks. Average interest-earning assets for the full year 2022 increased 7.2% to $6.80 billion from $6.34 billion for 2021. Average loans for the full year 2022 were $5.60 billion, up 16.7% from $4.79 billion for 2021 while average interest-bearing deposits at banks were $236.7 million, down 65.4% from $684.4 million. The yield on average loans for the full year 2022 increased 26 basis points to 4.61% from 4.35% for 2021. The cost of interest-bearing deposits for the full year 2022 increased 43 basis points to 0.79% from 0.36% for 2021. Full year 2022 loan prepayment fees were $1.3 million compared with $0.9 million for 2021. Net interest margin (taxable-equivalent) for the full year 2022 was 3.50% compared with 3.08% for 2021. The 42 basis point increase in the net interest margin reflected the increase in average loan yields, partially offset by the increase in the cost of interest-bearing deposits.

Credit loss expense for the fourth quarter was $0.1 million and included a $0.2 million provision for loan losses and a $0.1 million recovery for off-balance sheet items. The fourth quarter also included a recovery of an SBA guarantee repair loss allowance of less than $0.1 million. For the third quarter, credit loss expense was $0.6 million and included a $0.4 million negative provision for loan losses and a $1.0 million provision for off-balance sheet items.

Credit loss expense was $0.8 million for the full year 2022 compared to a credit loss recovery of $24.4 million for 2021. The full year 2022 credit loss expense included a $0.3 million provision for loan losses and a $0.5 million provision for off-balance sheet items. The credit loss expense recovery for 2021 was comprised of a $24.1 million recovery for credit losses, a $0.2 million recovery for off-balance sheet items and $1.7 million recovery for accrued interest receivable for loans currently or previously modified under the CARES Act, offset by $1.6 from an SBA guarantee repair loss allowance.

Noninterest income for the fourth quarter declined $1.4 million to $7.5 million from $8.9 million for the third quarter of 2022. The decline reflected a $0.6 million decrease in all other operating income, a $0.3 million decrease in gains on the sale of SBA 7(a) loans, a $0.2 million decrease in service charges on deposits, and a $0.3 million valuation adjustment to bank-owned life insurance. All other operating income declined primarily due to a $0.5 million decrease from the third quarter gain realized on the disposition of a lease residual. The volume of SBA loans sold in the fourth quarter declined to $40.9 million from $43.7 million for the third quarter and trade premiums also declined to 5.99% for the fourth quarter from 6.67% for the third quarter.

Noninterest income was $34.2 million for the full year 2022 compared with $40.5 million for 2021, down 15.5% primarily due to the $7.8 million decline in the gain on sale of SBA loans. The volume of SBA loans sold for the full year 2022 declined to $156.1 million from $261.8 million for the full year 2021. Full year 2021 SBA loan sales included $132.7 million of second-draw PPP loans sold for gains of $3.0 million.

Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter increased $0.5 million to $33.8 million from $33.3 million for the third quarter of 2022. The increase reflected a $0.9 million increase in salaries and benefits mostly due to adjustments to incentive compensation, which was offset by a $1.1 million decrease in occupancy and equipment largely due to adjustments to real property taxes on leased and owned premises. In addition, other operating expenses included a $0.4 million servicing asset valuation adjustment while changes in activity levels contributed to the $0.5 million increase in professional fees and a $0.2 million decrease in advertising and promotion. The efficiency ratio for the fourth quarter of 2022 increased slightly to 46.99%, from 46.22% for the prior quarter.

Noninterest expense was $130.3 million for the full year 2022 compared with $124.5 million for 2021, up 4.7%. The increase reflected a $3.6 million, or 4.9% increase in salaries and benefits, a $1.8 million increase in other operating expenses, a $1.1 million increase in data processing expenses and a $1.0 million increase in advertising and promotion offset by a $1.4 million decrease in occupancy and equipment. The efficiency ratio for the full year 2022 was 47.93%, compared with 52.84% for 2021 (54.01% excluding securities gains and deferred origination costs on second-draw PPP loans).

Hanmi recorded a provision for income taxes of $9.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to $11.0 million in the third quarter of 2022 and representing an effective tax rate of 25.3%, compared to 28.8% for the third quarter. The effective tax rate for the full year 2022 was 27.9%, compared to 27.2% for the full year 2021.

Financial Position
Total assets at December 31, 2022 increased 3.5%, or $248.6 million, to $7.38 billion from $7.13 billion at September 30, 2022. The sequential quarter increase reflected a 2.9%, or $166.1 million, growth in loans receivable as well as a $77.3 million increase in cash and due from banks supported by a $250.0 million increase in borrowings. From December 31, 2021, total assets increased 7.6%, or $518.5 million. The year increase reflected a 16.1%, or $816.6 million, growth in loans receivable supported by a 42.1%, or $256.5 million decrease in cash and due from banks, a 6.6%, or $381.8 million increase in deposits and a 36.0%, or $126.9 million, net increase in borrowings and subordinated debentures.

Loans receivable, before the allowance for credit losses, were $5.97 billion at December 31, 2022, up from $5.80 billion at September 30, 2022. Loans held for sale, representing the guaranteed portion of SBA 7(a) loans, were $8.0 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with $10.0 million at the end of the third quarter.

New loan production was $473.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 at an average rate of 6.85% while $121.4 million of loans paid-off during the quarter at an average rate of 6.27%.

Commercial real estate loan production for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $86.5 million. Commercial and industrial loan production was $137.9 million, SBA loan production was $53.2 million, equipment finance production was $89.9 million and residential mortgage loan production was $107.0 million.

New loan production for the full year 2022 was a record $2.12 billion, an increase of 9.1%, or $176.6 million, from $1.94 billion for the full year 2021 and 17.1% when excluding 2021 second-draw PPP loans.

Deposits were $6.17 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, down $33.3 million, or 0.5%, from $6.20 billion at the end of the preceding quarter. The change was primarily driven by a $708.5 million increase in time deposits partially offset by a $500.1 million decline in money market and savings deposits and a $231.9 million decrease in noninterest-bearing demand deposits. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits represented 41.2% of total deposits at December 31, 2022 and the loan-to-deposit ratio was 96.7%.

Stockholders’ equity at December 31, 2022 was $637.5 million, compared with $608.9 million at September 30, 2022. The sequential quarter increase was primarily due to $20.9 million of fourth quarter net income net of dividends as well as a $7.1 million reduction in unrealized after-tax loss due to changes in the value of the securities portfolio resulting from decreases in intermediate-term interest rates during the fourth quarter. Tangible common stockholders’ equity was $626.3 million, or 8.50% of tangible assets, at December 31, 2022, compared with $597.6 million, or 8.40% of tangible assets at the end of the third quarter. Tangible book value per share increased to $20.54 at December 31, 2022 from $19.60 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 December 31, 2022, Hanmi’s preliminary Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 11.37% and its Total risk-based capital ratio was 14.49%, compared with 11.21% and 14.38%, respectively, at the end of the third quarter of 2022.

Asset Quality
Loans 30 to 89 days past due and still accruing were 0.13% of loans at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with 0.09% at the end of the prior quarter.

Special mention loans were $79.0 million at the end of the fourth quarter, down from $123.0 million at September 30, 2022. Reductions in special mention loans included upgrades to pass loans of $34.1 million and payoffs of $14.6 million.  The quarter-over-quarter change also included increases from downgrades of pass loans of $0.4 million and upgrades from classified loans of $3.0 million.

Classified loans were $46.2 million at December 31, 2022, down from $47.7 million at the end of the third quarter.

Nonperforming loans were $9.8 million at December 31, 2022, down from $11.6 million at the end of the third quarter. As a percentage of the loan portfolio, nonperforming loans improved to 0.17% at quarter-end, down from 0.20% at the end of the third quarter.

Nonperforming assets were $10.0 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, down from $12.4 million at the end of the prior quarter. As a percentage of total assets, nonperforming assets also improved to 0.14% at quarter-end, down from 0.17% at the end of the third quarter.

Gross charge-offs for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $1.2 million, compared with $2.1 million for the preceding quarter. Recoveries of previously charged-off loans for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $0.9 million, compared with $1.0 million for the prior quarter. As a result, there were net charge-offs of $0.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with net charge-offs of $1.1 million for the prior quarter. For the fourth quarter of 2022, net charge-offs represented 0.02% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared with net charge-offs of 0.08% of average loans for the third quarter on an annualized basis.

The allowance for credit losses was $71.5 million at December 31, 2022, relatively unchanged from $71.6 million at September 30, 2022. The ratio of the allowance for credit losses to loans declined slightly to 1.20% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 from 1.23% at the end of the third quarter. Specific allowances for loans increased $1.0 million while the allowance for quantitative and qualitative considerations decreased $1.1 million.

Corporate Developments
On October 27, 2022, Hanmi’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend on its common stock for the 2022 fourth quarter of $0.25 per share. The dividend was paid on November 23, 2022, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 7, 2022.

Earnings Conference Call        
Hanmi Bank will host its fourth quarter and year-end 2022 earnings conference call today, January 24, 2023 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, including any potential recessionary conditions;
• 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;
• 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 and changes in the monetary policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
• 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; and
• cyber security and fraud risks 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