See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)

Hope Bancorp, Inc. (“Hope Bancorp” on a parent-only basis and the “Company” on a consolidated basis), headquartered in Los Angeles, California, is the holding company for Bank of Hope (the “Bank”). As of March 31, 2018 , the Bank operated branches in California, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York, loan production offices in Colorado, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Georgia, Southern California, and Northern California, and a representative office in Seoul, Korea. The Company is a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Delaware and a bank holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended.

The consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared without an audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), except for the Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition as of December 31, 2017 which was from the audited financial statements included in the Company’s 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such SEC rules and regulations.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Hope Bancorp and its wholly owned subsidiaries, principally Bank of Hope. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company has made all adjustments, that in the opinion of management, are necessary to fairly present the Company’s financial position at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 and the results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 . Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period amounts to conform to the current year presentation. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be anticipated for the full year.

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read along with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC Topic 606), with several subsequent updates. This series of comprehensive guidance has replaced all existing revenue recognition guidance and is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods therein. Under the new guidance, there is a five-step model to apply to revenue recognition. The five-steps consist of: (1) determination of whether a contract, an agreement between two or more parties that creates legally enforceable rights and obligations, exists; (2) identification of the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determination of the transaction price; (4) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (5) recognition of revenue when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company adopted this standard as of January 1, 2018, and applied the modified retrospective approach to reflect the aggregate effect of all modifications of those contracts that were not completed as of that date. There was no material impact on the consolidated financial statements or on how the Company recognizes revenue upon adoption. As such, prior period amounts were not adjusted and the prior period amounts continue to be reported in accordance with previous accounting guidance. See Note 18, “Revenue Recognition” for further details.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, “Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities.” This ASU addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments by making targeted improvements to GAAP as follows: (1) require equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. However, an entity may choose to measure equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer; (2) simplify the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment. When a qualitative assessment indicates that impairment exists, an entity is required to measure the investment at fair value; (3) eliminate the requirement to disclose the fair value of financial instruments measured at amortized cost for entities that are not public business entities; (4) eliminate the requirement for public business entities to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the balance sheet; (5) require public business entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes; (6) require an entity to present separately in other comprehensive income the portion of the total change in the fair value of a liability resulting from a change in the instrument-specific credit risk when the entity has elected to measure the liability at fair value in accordance with the fair value option for financial instruments; (7) require separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset (that is, securities or loans and receivables) on the balance sheet or the accompanying notes to the financial statements; and (8) clarify that an entity should evaluate the need for a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset related to available-for-sale securities in combination with the entity’s other deferred tax assets. The adoption of ASU No. 2016-01 on January 1, 2018 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In accordance with (1) above, the Company measured equity investments at fair value and recognized changes in fair value in net income as of March 31, 2018 (see Note 5 Equity Investment Securities). In accordance with (5) above, the Company measured the fair value of its loan portfolio as of March 31, 2018 using an exit price notion (see Note 15 Fair Value Measurements).

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)”. The new standard establishes a right-of-use (“ROU”) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of the pending adoption of the new standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” ASU 2016-13 requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Financial institutions and other organizations will now use forward-looking information to better inform their credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 becomes effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of the pending adoption of the new standard on its consolidated financial statements and is collaborating with a third party advisory team to develop and execute upon the Company’s implementation plan and methodology in order for the Company to be compliant with ASU 2016-13 by the effective date. The Company has established a CECL committee to oversee the development and implementation of ASU 2016-13. Based on the Company’s initial assessment of the ASU 2016-13, the Company expects the new guidance will result in additional required provision and allowance for loan losses which could have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, “Intangibles: Goodwill and Other: Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” ASU 2017-04 will amend and simplify current goodwill impairment testing to eliminate Step 2 from the current provisions. Under the new guidance, an entity should perform the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying value and recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. An entity still has the option to perform the quantitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if a quantitative impairment test is necessary. ASU 2017-04 should be adopted for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The adoption of ASU 2017-04 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, “Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities”. ASU 2017-08 was issued to amend the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium. ASU 2017-08 shortens the amortization period of premiums on certain purchased callable debt securities to the earliest call date. ASU 2017-08 affect all entities that hold investments in callable debt securities that have an amortized cost basis in excess of the amount that is repayable by the issuer at the earliest call date (that is, at a premium). ASU 2017-08 does not impact securities purchased at a discount, which continue to be amortized to maturity. ASU 2017-08 is effective for annual period beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted in an interim period. If an entity chooses to adopt early, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes the interim period. The adoption of ASU 2017-08 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

3.    Stock-Based Compensation

The Company has a stock-based incentive plan (the “2016 Plan”) to award equity as a form of compensation. The 2016 Plan, was approved by the Company’s stockholders on September 1, 2016. The 2016 Plan provides for grants of stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock, performance shares, and performance units (sometimes referred to individually or collectively as “awards”) to non-employee directors, employees, and consultants of the Company. Stock options may be either incentive stock options (“ISOs”), as defined in Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), or nonqualified stock options (“NQSOs”).

The 2016 Plan gives the Company flexibility to (i) attract and retain qualified non-employee directors, executives, other key employees, and consultants with appropriate equity-based awards to; (ii) motivate high levels of performance; (iii) recognize employee contributions to the Company’s success; and (iv) align the interests of the 2016 Plan participants with those of the Company’s stockholders. The plan initially had 2,400,000 shares available for grant to participants. The exercise price for shares under an ISO may not be less than 100% of fair market value on the date the award is granted under Code Section 422. Similarly, under the terms of the 2016 Plan, the exercise price for SARs and NQSOs may not be less than 100% of fair market value on the date of grant. Performance units are awarded to a participant at the market price of the Company’s common stock on the date of award (after the lapse of the restriction period and the attainment of the performance criteria). No minimum exercise price is prescribed for performance shares and restricted stock awarded under the 2016 Plan. All options not exercised generally expire 10 years after the date of grant.

ISOs, SARs and NQSOs have vesting periods of three to five years and have 10 -year contractual terms. Restricted stock, performance shares, and performance units are granted with a restriction period of not less than one year from the grant date for performance-based awards and not more than three years from the grant date for time-based vesting of grants. Compensation expense for awards is recognized over the vesting period.  

The Company had another stock-based incentive plan, the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (“2007 Plan”), which was approved by stockholders in May 2007. Under the terms of this plan, awards cannot be granted under the plan more than ten years after the plan adoption date. Therefore, subsequent to May 2017, equity awards were not issued from this plan.

Under the 2016 Plan, 1,330,621 shares were available for future grants as of March 31, 2018 .

The total shares reserved for issuance will serve as the underlying value for all equity awards under the 2016 Plan. With the exception of the shares underlying stock options and restricted stock awards, the board of directors may choose to settle the awards by paying the equivalent cash value or by delivering the appropriate number of shares.

The following is a summary of stock option activity under the 2016 Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2018 :

The following is a summary of restricted stock and performance unit activity under the 2016 Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2018 :

The total fair value of restricted stock and performance units vested for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was $476 thousand and $735 thousand , respectively.

On August, 21, 2017 the Company adopted the Hope Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). The ESPP allows eligible employees to purchase the Company’s common shares through payroll deductions which build up between the offering date and the purchase date. At the purchase date, the Company uses the accumulated funds to purchase shares in the Company on behalf of the participating employees at 10% discount of the closing price of the Company’s common shares. The closing price is the lower of either the closing price on the first day of the offering period or on the closing price on the purchase date. The dollar amount of common shares purchased under the ESPP must not exceed 20% of the participating employee’s base salary, subject to a cap of $25 thousand in stock value based on the grant date. The ESPP is considered compensatory under GAAP and compensation expense for the ESPP is recognized as part of the Company’s stock based compensation expenses. The compensation expense for ESPP during the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $148 thousand . The Company did not have any compensation expenses for the ESPP during the three months ended March 31, 2017 .

The amount charged against income related to stock-based payment arrangements, including ESPP, was $953 thousand and $746 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , respectively. The income tax benefit recognized was approximately $245 thousand and $290 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , respectively.

At March 31, 2018 , the unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested stock option grants was $880 thousand which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average vesting period of 2.75 years. Unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock and performance units was $3.9 million which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average vesting period of 2.46 years.

4.    Earnings Per Share (“EPS”)

Basic EPS does not reflect the possibility of dilution that could result from the issuance of additional shares of common stock upon exercise or conversion of outstanding equity awards, and is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if stock options or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted to common stock that would then share in earnings. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, stock options and restricted shares awards for 308,258 and 236,878 shares of common stock, respectively, were excluded in computing diluted earnings per common share because they were anti-dilutive. Additionally, warrants issued pursuant to the Company’s participation in the U.S. Treasury’s TARP Capital Purchase Plan, to purchase 20,520 shares and 19,963 shares of common stock were anti-dilutive and excluded for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , respectively.

The following tables show the computation of basic and diluted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 .

5.    Equity Investment Securities

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASU 2016-01, “ Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities”. As a result of the adoption, the Company reclassified $469 thousand in net unrealized losses included in other comprehensive income and deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2017 to retained earnings on January 1, 2018. Equity investment securities measured at fair value at March 31, 2018, consisted of mutual funds and equity stock in other institutions in the amount of $21.6 million and $3.9 million , respectively.

In accordance with ASU 2016-01, the change in fair value for equity investment securities for the three months ended March 31, 2018 were recorded as noninterest income for the three months ended March 31, 2018, summarized in the table below:

6.    Securities Available for Sale

The following is a summary of securities available for sale as of the dates indicated:

 

As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , there were no holdings of securities of any one issuer, other than the U.S. Government and its agencies, in an amount greater than 10% of stockholders’ equity.

At March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , $39.6 million and $19.0 million , respectively, in unrealized losses on securities net of taxes were included in accumulated other comprehensive loss. Also included in accumulated other comprehensive loss at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , were unrealized losses on interest only strip net of taxes of $51 thousand and $41 thousand , respectively. There were no reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income into earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2018 or 2017.

During the first quarter of 2018, the Company adopted ASU 2016-01 “ Financial Instruments-Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities” . As a result of the adoption of ASU 2016-01, the Company no longer accounts for mutual funds as available-for-sale securities and accounts for these investments as equity investments with changes in fair value recorded through earnings. In accordance with ASU 2016-01, the Company reclassified $469 thousand in net unrealized losses included in other comprehensive income and deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2017 to retained earnings on January 1, 2018. The subsequent change to fair value for mutual funds were recorded as noninterest income for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

The amortized cost and estimated fair value of investment securities at March 31, 2018 , by contractual maturity, are shown below. Expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties. Securities not due at a single maturity date are shown separately.