Korean-American banks in Southern California are continuing their growth trajectory in the ranking of financial institutions in LA County. Their strong performance in the loan market, particularly in real estate, has contributed significantly to their positive results.

According to a report by the LA Business Journal (LBJ), which analyzed data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and bank performance records, Bank of Hope (CEO Kevin Kim) ranked 5th among the 40 banks headquartered in LA County, based on asset size as of the second quarter of 2024. Bank of Hope first entered the top 5 in the second quarter of last year and has maintained this high position since. As of Q2 2024, Bank of Hope’s total assets amounted to $17.37 billion. It also ranked 96th among the 4,600 commercial banks nationwide, making it the only bank within the top 100.

Following Bank of Hope, Hanmi Bank (CEO Barney Lee) ranked 9th with $7.548 billion in assets, PCB Bank (CEO Henry Kim) ranked 15th with $2.853 billion, Open Bank (CEO Min Kim) ranked 16th with $2.29 billion, and CBB Bank (CEO James Hong) ranked 17th with $1.655 billion.


The largest bank headquartered in LA County is City National Bank, with assets totaling $92.245 billion. The second largest is East West Bank, a Chinese-American bank, with $72.335 billion in assets. Bank of California ranks third with $35.16 billion, and Cathay Bank, another Chinese-American bank, is fourth with $23.218 billion in assets.

Korean-American banks performed well in their stronghold—real estate loans. Bank of Hope ranked 5th among the 40 banks with $9.885 billion in real estate loans, accounting for 73% of its total loans. Hanmi Bank followed in 8th place with $4.853 billion (79%), PCB Bank ranked 13th with $2.047 billion (84%), Open Bank ranked 14th with $1.666 billion (90%), and CBB Bank ranked 16th with $1.336 billion (94%). However, there is concern about the high concentration of real estate loans, highlighting the need for loan diversification.

In the ranking for commercial and industrial (C&I) loans, Bank of Hope placed 4th with $3.079 billion, representing 23% of its total loans. Hanmi Bank ranked 8th with $1.287 billion (21%), PCB Bank 14th with $241 million (10%), Open Bank 15th with $209 million (11%), and CBB Bank 19th with $101 million (7%). The need for a higher share of C&I loans is noted.

For consumer loans, including credit cards, Bank of Hope ranked 6th with $26 million (0.2% of total loans), followed by PCB Bank in 7th with $15 million (0.6%) and Hanmi Bank in 13th with $6 million (0.09%).

In the ranking for deposit market share among LA County banks, Bank of Hope ranked 8th with a 1.91% share of total deposits, Hanmi Bank ranked 19th with 0.78%, PCB Bank ranked 27th with 0.32%, and Open Bank ranked 29th with 0.3%.

The dominant players in deposit market share include JPMorgan Chase at 20.2%, Bank of America at 17.81%, Wells Fargo Bank at 12.86%, City National Bank at 9.25%, East West Bank at 7.62%, Citibank at 5.27%, and US Bank at 3.14%.

By Hwandong Cho

<Hwandong Cho>