Hanmi Financial to Acquire Central Bancorp

Hanmi Financial

announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Central Bancorp, Inc. ("CBI"), parent of Texas-based United Central Bank. The combined company will have 51 banking offices and 2 loan production offices serving a broad range of ethnic communities in California, Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Georgia. Upon closing of the transaction, Hanmi will have approximately $4.3 billion in assets, $2.8 billion in gross loans, and $3.8 billion in deposits, and will be the second largest Korean-American bank with a #1 deposit market share ranking among Korean-American banks in Texas, Illinois and Virginia and a significant presence in other key markets. Key strategic benefits of the merger include: