Bank of Hope announced on October 1st that its parent company, Hope Bancorp, has completed the acquisition of the commercial banking unit of Japan’s ‘SMBC Manubank’. This comes six months after the initial acquisition announcement.
Through this transaction, Bank of Hope has absorbed Manubank’s existing commercial banking clients and experienced professional staff. This move is expected to diversify the deposit customer base, expand the sales network and customer foundation in the Greater Los Angeles area, strengthen commercial finance competitiveness targeting mid-sized enterprises, and serve as a stepping stone to becoming a super-regional bank.
CEO Kevin Kim stated, “The completion of this transaction is a significant milestone in Bank of Hope’s ongoing development,” adding, “We have created a new opportunity to expand our commercial finance capabilities and strengthen client relationships by combining Manubank’s experienced bankers and long-standing customer relationships with our broad financial platform.”
In particular, along with this acquisition, the previously announced collaboration and partnership agreement between Bank of Hope and SMBC also officially went into effect. As a result, Bank of Hope will now provide comprehensive financial services to SMBC’s mid-sized enterprise and retail clients in Japan who require banking services in the United States.
For Bank of Hope, this means acquiring a new customer acquisition channel capable of attracting multinational corporations operating in the U.S.
