M&A

5 November, 2009

UPDATE 2-Hanmi Financial posts Q3 loss; seeks Korean investment

* Q3 loss/shr $1.26 vs EPS $0.09 last yr

* Net interest income falls 26 pct to $26.5 mln

* Gets regulatory order to address liquidity issues

* Says in talks with Korean investors for capital infusion

* Shares fall as much as 7 pct (Adds conference call details, updates share movement)

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Hanmi Financial Corp (HAFC.O) posted a third-quarter loss on increased provisions for bad loans, and said it was in talks with Korean institutional investors for an additional capital infusion to weather the credit storm.

The bank also said it received a regulatory order seeking written plans to address issues related to capital, liquidity and asset quality.

Under the order, the bank is required to increase its capital by $100 million and maintain a ratio of tangible shareholders' equity to total tangible assets of not less than 9 percent by July 31, 2010.

The order from the California Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco are effective Nov. 2.

Hanmi, which received $6.9 million from Korean firm Leading Investment & Securities Co Ltd in September, said on a conference call, that an additional $4.1 million it was due to get from the firm by Nov. 30 may be delayed.

IWL Partners LLC, an affiliate of Leading, is separately preparing an agreement that would result in a larger equity capital infusion into Hanmi, the bank said.

Q3 RESULTS

For the latest third quarter, the holding company for Hanmi Bank reported a net loss of $59.7 million, or $1.26 per share, compared with a net income of $4.3 million, or 9 cents per share, last year. Hanmi incurred tax charges of $38.2 million related to a valuation allowance of deferred tax assets during the quarter. Excluding the charges, the net loss would have been $21.5 million, primarily driven by $49.5 million in credit loss provisions, Hanmi said in a statement.

Analysts on average were looking for a loss of 28 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net interest income fell 26 percent to $26.5 million.

Third quarter charge-offs were $29.9 million compared with $11.8 million a year ago.

Shares of the company were down 9 cents at $1.39 Thursday afternoon on Nasdaq. They touched a low of $1.37 earlier in the session. (Reporting by Brenton Cordeiro in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Pradeep Kurup)

Source: http://www.reuters.com