Hope Bancorp Reports Financial Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2026

For the first quarter of 2026, net income of $29.5 million, up 40% year-over-year

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company" or "Hope") (NASDAQ:HOPE), the holding company of Bank of Hope (the "Bank"), today reported unaudited financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company recorded net income of $29.5 million, or $0.23 per diluted common share, up 40% from net income of $21.1 million, or $0.17 per diluted common share, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and down 14% from net income of $34.5 million, or $0.27 per diluted common share, for the three months ended December 31, 2025. For the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company recorded pre-provision net revenue⁽¹⁾ ("PPNR") of $46.6 million, up 43% from PPNR of $32.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and up 1% from PPNR of $46.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2025.

"In the 2026 first quarter, we delivered year-over-year growth in net income, revenue, loans and deposits, driven by organic growth and the strategic benefits of the Territorial Bancorp acquisition. Quarter-over-quarter, we saw pre-provision net revenue growth and improved efficiency, supported by disciplined expense management, a stable net interest margin and continued progress in lowering our cost of deposits. We also returned capital through repurchases of common shares during the quarter," said Kevin S. Kim, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

"On March 31, 2026, we announced the accretive acquisition of the Commercial Banking Unit of SMBC MANUBANK ("MANUBANK"), which aligns directly with our key priorities of building our commercial banking capabilities, expanding our reach among middle market and multinational clients, and growing our core deposit franchise," continued Kim. "We expect to close the transaction in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The pending acquisition is projected to strengthen our core earnings power and efficiently deploy capital, improving our profitability and optimizing our capital ratios without the issuance of new shares. In addition, our future collaboration and partnership with SMBC is expected to create meaningful opportunities to expand our services to a broader, global, multi-cultural customer base. We look forward to providing our new clients with the same excellent level of service they have come to expect from SMBC MANUBANK."

"This is an exciting time for Hope, as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities and build on the momentum generated over the past several quarters to deliver long-term value for our stockholders, further supported by the pending acquisition of MANUBANK. We thank our dedicated team members for their ongoing commitment and contributions in support of our efforts," concluded Kim.

Operating Results for the First Quarter of 2026

Net interest income and net interest margin. Net interest income totaled $124.1 million for the first quarter of 2026, down $3.3 million, or 3%, compared with $127.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, and up $23.2 million, or 23%, from the first quarter of 2025. The quarter-over-quarter change in net interest income reflected the impact of a lower day count in the first quarter and a modest decrease of 0.4% in average earning assets, in which average loans were up but other earning assets declined. Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2026 was 2.90%, unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2025, and up 36 basis points from 2.54% for the year-ago quarter. Year-over-year average earning asset growth reflected the acquisition of Territorial Bancorp, Inc. ("Territorial"), which closed in the second quarter of 2025. Year-over-year net interest margin expansion was primarily driven by funding cost improvements, as the cost of interest bearing deposits decreased 77 basis points to 3.37% for the first quarter of 2026, down from 4.14% for the first quarter of 2025, exceeding the decline in federal funds target rate over the same period.

Noninterest income. For the first quarter of 2026, noninterest income totaled $17.0 million, down $1.4 million, or 8%, compared with $18.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, and up $1.3 million, or 8%, compared with $15.7 million for the first quarter of 2025. The quarter-over-quarter decrease was primarily due to less gains on the sale of investment securities and lower customer-level swap fee income. The linked quarter change in customer-level swap fees reflected less underlying transaction activity in the first quarter of 2026. The Company sold $53.0 million of Small Business Administration ("SBA") loans in the first quarter of 2026, for a net gain of $3.3 million, compared with $46.0 million sold for a net gain of $2.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Year-over-year noninterest income growth reflected broad-based improvement in customer fee income across various business lines.

Noninterest expense. Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2026 totaled $94.5 million, down 5% from $99.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, and up 13% from $83.9 million for the first quarter of 2025. The quarter-over-quarter decrease in noninterest expense reflected continued expense management discipline, including a 3% decrease in compensation expense. Compared with the year-ago first quarter, the increase in noninterest expense primarily reflected the addition of Territorial's operating expenses.

The efficiency ratio for the first quarter of 2026 improved to 67.0%, down from 68.2% in the prior quarter and 72.0% in the year-ago quarter, reflecting positive operating leverage alongside disciplined expense management.

Income tax provision and tax rate. For the first quarter of 2026, the Company recorded a provision for income tax of $8.4 million, compared with a provision for income tax of $4.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. The fourth quarter 2025 provision for income tax included true-up entries related to the remeasurement of the Company's deferred tax assets and liabilities. The first quarter 2026 reported effective tax rate was 22.1%, compared with 20.3% for the full year of 2025, which included a reported effective tax rate of 11.9% for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Balance Sheet Summary

Total assets. At March 31, 2026, total assets totaled $18.66 billion, compared with $18.53 billion as of December 31, 2025, and $17.07 billion as of March 31, 2025.

Loans. At March 31, 2026, gross loans totaled $14.74 billion, and first quarter 2026 average loans were $14.69 billion, both essentially stable compared with gross loans of $14.79 billion at December 31, 2025, and fourth quarter 2025 average loans of $14.65 billion, respectively. Year-over-year growth in end-of-period and average loans primarily reflected organic residential mortgage growth and the impact of the Territorial Bancorp acquisition.

The following table sets forth the loan portfolio composition at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2025:

Deposits. Total deposits of $15.73 billion at March 31, 2026, increased 1% from $15.60 billion at December 31, 2025, and increased 9% from $14.49 billion at March 31, 2025. Quarter-over-quarter, interest bearing deposits, excluding time deposits, increased 3%; noninterest bearing demand deposits increased 0.5%, and higher-cost time deposits were intentionally decreased. The year-over-year growth in deposits largely reflected the impact of the Territorial Bancorp acquisition.

The following table sets forth the deposit composition at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2025:

Credit Quality and Allowance for Credit Losses

Criticized loans. Criticized loans decreased $26.0 million, or 7%, quarter-over-quarter to $325.1 million at March 31, 2026, down from $351.1 million at December 31, 2025, and included a 23% reduction in special mention loans and a 2% reduction in classified loans. Year-over-year, criticized loans were down $123.6 million, or 28%, from $448.7 million at March 31, 2025. The criticized loan ratio improved to 2.22% of total loans receivable at March 31, 2026, down 17 basis points from 2.39% at December 31, 2025, and down 114 basis points from 3.36% at March 31, 2025. The reductions reflected successful resolutions of problem loans.

The following table sets forth the breakdown of criticized loans at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2025:

Nonperforming assets. Nonperforming assets totaled $120.5 million, or 0.65% of total assets, at March 31, 2026, compared with $136.1 million, or 0.73% of total assets, at December 31, 2025, and $83.9 million, or 0.49% of total assets, at March 31, 2025.

The following table sets forth the components of nonperforming assets at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2025:

Net charge offs. The Company recorded net charge-offs of $10.7 million for the first quarter of 2026, equivalent to 0.29%, annualized, of average loans. This compares with net charge-offs of $3.6 million, or 0.10%, annualized, of average loans for the fourth quarter of 2025 and $8.3 million, or 0.25%, annualized, of average loans for the first quarter of 2025.

Allowance for credit losses. The allowance for credit losses totaled $155.1 million at March 31, 2026, compared with $156.7 million at December 31, 2025, and $147.4 million at March 31, 2025. The allowance coverage ratio was 1.06% of loans receivable at March 31, 2026, compared with 1.07% at December 31, 2025, and 1.11% at March 31, 2025. The year-over-year change in the allowance coverage ratio largely reflected the impact of the Territorial Bancorp acquisition.

The following table sets forth the allowance for credit losses and the coverage ratios at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2025:

Provision for credit losses. For the first quarter of 2026, the Company recorded provision for credit losses of $8.7 million, compared with $7.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 and $4.8 million for the first quarter of 2025. The quarter-over-quarter increase in the provision for credit losses primarily reflected higher net charge-offs in the first quarter of 2026.

Capital

At March 31, 2026, the Company and the Bank's capital ratios continued to exceed all regulatory capital requirements generally required to meet the definition of a "well-capitalized" financial institution. The completion of the Territorial Bancorp acquisition on April 2, 2025, impacted prior year capital and capital ratio comparisons.

The following table sets forth the regulatory capital ratios for the Company at March 31, 2026, December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2025:

During the first quarter of 2026, the Company repurchased 604,161 shares of common stock, equivalent to 0.5% of outstanding common stock, at an average price of $11.10 per share, for a total of $6.7 million, pursuant to its existing share repurchase authorization of $35.3 million.

At March 31, 2026, total stockholders' equity was $2.28 billion, unchanged compared with December 31, 2025. Book value per share at March 31, 2026, was $17.86 compared with $17.81 at December 31, 2025. Tangible common equity ("TCE") per share⁽²⁾ was $13.73 at March 31, 2026, compared with $13.71 at December 31, 2025.

Investor Conference Call

The Company previously announced that it will host an investor conference call on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time / 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time to review its unaudited financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Investors and analysts are invited to access the conference call by dialing 866-235-9917 (domestic) or 412-902-4103 (international) and asking for the "Hope Bancorp Call." A presentation to accompany the earnings call will be available at the Investor Relations section of Hope Bancorp's website at www.ir-hopebancorp.com. Other interested parties are invited to listen to a live webcast of the call available at the Investor Relations section of Hope Bancorp's website. After the live webcast, a replay will remain available at the Investor Relations section of Hope Bancorp's website for at least one year. A telephonic replay of the call will be available at 855-669-9658 (domestic) or 412-317-0088 (international) for one week through May 5, 2026, with the replay access code 6856895.

Non-GAAP Financial Metrics

This news release and accompanying financial tables contain certain non-GAAP financial measure disclosures, including net income excluding notable items, earnings per share excluding notable items, noninterest expense excluding notable items, efficiency ratio excluding notable items, effective tax rate excluding notable items, PPNR, PPNR excluding notable items, ROA excluding notable items, ROE excluding notable items, ROTCE, ROTCE excluding notable items, TCE per share and TCE ratio. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company's operational performance and the Company's capital levels and has included these figures in response to market participant interest in these financial metrics. Quantitative reconciliations of the most directly comparable GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures are provided in the accompanying financial information on Table Pages 9 through 11.

About Hope Bancorp, Inc.

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) is the holding company for Bank of Hope, with $18.66 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2026. Following the addition of Territorial Savings as a division of Bank of Hope, the Company became the largest regional bank serving multicultural customers across the continental United States and Hawaii. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Bank of Hope offers a comprehensive range of commercial, corporate, and consumer banking products and services, including commercial and commercial real estate lending, SBA lending, residential mortgage and consumer lending, treasury management, foreign exchange solutions, interest rate derivatives, and international trade finance. Bank of Hope operates 45 full-service branches in California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Alabama and Georgia under the Bank of Hope banner, and 28 branches in Hawaii under the Territorial Savings banner. Bank of Hope also operates SBA loan production offices, commercial loan production offices, and residential mortgage loan production offices throughout the United States, and a representative office in Seoul, South Korea. 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 www.bankofhope.com for Bank of Hope and www.tsbhawaii.bank for Territorial Savings, a division of Bank of Hope. By including the foregoing website address links, the Company does not intend to and shall not be deemed to incorporate by reference any material contained or accessible therein.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "estimates", "projects", and similar expressions and statements regarding Hope Bancorp's strategic initiatives, the acquisition of the Commercial Banking Unit of SMBC MANUBANK ("MANUBANK"), and Hope Bancorp's future financial and operational results and capital allocation strategy. With respect to any such forward-looking statements, Hope Bancorp claims the protection provided for in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties. Hope Bancorp's actual results, performance or achievements may differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. With the consummation of the pending acquisition of MANUBANK, factors that may cause actual outcomes to differ from what is expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements include, among other things: the failure of the conditions to closing to be satisfied or waived; difficulties and delays in integrating Hope Bancorp and MANUBANK and achieving anticipated synergies, cost savings and other benefits from the transaction; higher than anticipated transaction costs; and deposit attrition, operating costs, customer loss and business disruption following the acquisition, including difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees and customers, which may be greater than expected. The closing of the proposed transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Other risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: possible deterioration of economic conditions in Hope Bancorp's areas of operation and in the U.S. generally or elsewhere, including as a result of the interest rate environment, supply chain disruptions, inflation, labor shortages, changes in the housing and real estate markets, consumer confidence and spending habits; risk of adverse economic or political conditions in South Korea; interest rate risk associated with volatile interest rates and related asset‑liability matching risk; liquidity risks; the possibility that Hope Bancorp may discontinue or otherwise limit repurchases of its common stock from time to time; risk of significant non‑earning assets and net credit losses that could occur, particularly in times of weak economic conditions or rising interest rates; the failure of or changes to assumptions and estimates underlying Hope Bancorp's allowance for credit losses; risk of natural disasters; risk of cybersecurity incidents; potential increases in deposit insurance assessments and regulatory risks associated with current and future regulations; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Hope Bancorp; and the impact of U.S. and global trade policies, including changes in, or the imposition of, tariffs and/or trade barriers and the economic impacts, volatility and uncertainty resulting therefrom including fluctuations in commodity prices such as oil, as well as geopolitical instability and international tensions. For additional information concerning these and other risk factors, see Hope Bancorp's most recent Annual Report on Form 10‑K and other documents Hope Bancorp files with the SEC from time to time. Hope Bancorp does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to update any forward‑looking statements to reflect the occurrence of events or circumstances after the date of such statements except as required by law.