Hanmi Financial, hammered by real estate losses, hires financial adviser
By APMonday, February 8, 2010
Hanmi brings in financial adviser
LOS ANGELES — Hanmi Financial said Monday that it has retained Cappello Capital Corp. as a financial adviser while the company pursues strategic alternatives.
That suggests that Hanmi, which serves Korean-American and other ethnic communities, is seeking a buyer.
The company has been damaged by losses in the real estate market and late last month, in an effort to knock down media reports of a looming sale, acknowledged that Chairman Joseph K. Rho had traveled to South Korea to speak with investors, Including Woori Finance Holdings.
The company, however, said on January 22 that media reports were “filled with inaccuracies.”
The company suspended dividend payments last year to conserve cash.
Hanmi Financial Corp., parent of Hanmi Bank, is based in Los Angeles and has 27 branches in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, as well as a loan production office in Washington state.
