Nara Bancorp and Center Financial Complete Merger of Equals Creating the Largest Korean American Bank in the Country
01 December 2011 - 8:01AM
Business Wire
Nara Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NARA) and Center Financial
Corporation (NASDAQ: CLFC) today announced the completion of their
merger of equals that creates the largest Korean American bank in
the country.
As previously announced, the combined company will operate under
the new name of BBCN. The name of the holding company will be BBCN
Bancorp, Inc. and the name of the bank will be BBCN Bank. It is
expected that BBCN will start trading under the new stock ticker
symbol, “BBCN“, effective as of market open on Thursday, December
1, 2011.
BBCN is the largest and best capitalized bank serving Korean
American communities across the country. BBCN has more than $5
billion in assets, more than $4 billion in deposits, and more than
40 branches in Southern California, Northern California, New York,
New Jersey, Seattle and Chicago. BBCN will have a market
capitalization exceeding $700 million, based on recent trading
prices.
“We are extremely excited to complete this transformational
merger and create a financial institution that will serve as a
cornerstone for Korean American communities across the United
States,” said Alvin D. Kang, President and Chief Executive Officer
of BBCN. “With unparalleled convenience and lending capacity among
Korean American banks, we are uniquely able to provide customized
solutions that will help individuals and small- and middle-market
businesses achieve their financial goals. We look forward to
providing our existing customer base with the benefits of doing
business with a larger franchise, as well as steadily increasing
our market share by presenting our expanded capabilities to larger
businesses than we have traditionally targeted in the past.”
Pursuant to the merger agreement, Center Financial shareholders
will receive 0.7805 shares of the new company for each share of
Center Financial Corporation they owned.
Board of Directors
All current directors of Nara Bancorp and Center Financial
Corporation will serve collectively on the Board of Directors of
BBCN Bancorp and BBCN Bank. At the holding company, Ki Suh Park
will be Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Chang Hwi Kim will
be Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. At the bank level,
Kevin S. Kim will be Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Scott
Yoon-Suk Whang will be Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
About BBCN Bancorp, Inc.
BBCN Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of BBCN Bank, the
largest Korean American bank in the nation with more than $5
billion in assets as of September 30, 2011. The company is a result
of the merger of equals of Nara Bancorp, Inc. and Center Financial
Corporation. Headquartered in Los Angeles and serving a diverse mix
of customers mirroring its communities, BBCN operates 44
full-service branches in California, New York, New Jersey,
Washington and Illinois, along with three loan production offices
in Seattle, Denver and Dallas. BBCN specializes in core business
banking products for small- and medium-sized companies, with an
emphasis in commercial real estate and business lending, SBA
lending and international trade financing. BBCN Bank is a
California-chartered bank and its deposits are insured by the FDIC
to the extent provided by law. BBCN is an Equal Opportunity
Lender.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements regarding the
contemplated future financial and operating results, benefits and
synergies of the merger and other statements about the future
expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects of the management
of the company. These statements are based on current expectations,
estimates, forecasts and projections and management assumptions
about the future performance of the company, as well as the
businesses and markets in which it operates. These statements
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such
as “expects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “targets,”
“goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans, “seeks,” and variations of
such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements which are not statements of historical
fact. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that are difficult to assess. Actual outcomes and
results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted
in such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual
outcomes to differ from what is expressed or forecasted in these
forward-looking statements include, among things: difficulties and
delays in integrating the formerly separate operations of Nara
Bancorp and Center Financial and achieving anticipated synergies,
cost savings and other benefits from the transaction; higher than
anticipated transaction costs; deposit attrition, operating costs,
customer loss and business disruption following the merger,
including difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees,
may be greater than expected; competitive pressures among
depository and other financial institutions may increase
significantly and have an effect on revenues; the strength of the
United States economy in general, and of the local economies in
which the combined company will operate, may be different than
expected, which could result in, among other things, a
deterioration in credit quality or a reduced demand for credit and
have a negative effect on the combined company’s loan portfolio and
allowance for loan losses; changes in the U.S. legal and regulatory
framework; and adverse conditions in the stock market, the public
debt market and other capital markets (including changes in
interest rate conditions) which would negatively affect the
combined company’s business and operating results.
For a more complete list and description of such risks and
uncertainties, refer to Nara Bancorp’s Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2010, and Center Financial’s Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2010, as well as other filings made by Nara
Bancorp, Center Financial and, after the date hereof, BBCN Bancorp,
with the SEC. Except as required under the U.S. federal securities
laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we disclaim any
intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements
after the distribution of this press release, whether as a result
of new information, future events, developments, changes in
assumptions or otherwise.
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