LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:WIBC), the holding company for Wilshire State Bank, today announced that it has opened a new branch in the Los Angeles area bringing Wilshire's branch network to 20 locations.
The Rancho Hannam Branch is located at 6753 Carnelian Street in the City of Rancho Cucamonga, which is approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles, and represents the second Wilshire State Bank branch in this thriving city. The branch has a superb location inside the new Rancho Hannam Chain Supermarket, with quick access to local shopping and businesses.
"We are enthusiastic about the visibility of this new location in the heart of Rancho Cucamonga, and our ability to serve new customers in the community," stated Soo Bong Min, President and CEO. Rancho Cucamonga is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation and named on Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in 2006. It has also been ranked amongst the best cities for entrepreneurs by Inc. Magazine and one of the best cities in which to raise children by The L.A. Times. With a highly educated workforce, affordable housing, excellent schools and commuting proximity to San Bernardino and Riverside, Los Angeles and Orange Counties, the city's population grew 26% from 1990 to 2000, and employment grew 32% during the same timeframe.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Wilshire State Bank operates 20 branch offices in California, Texas, New Jersey and New York, and seven loan production offices in Seattle, Las Vegas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Annandale (in Virginia), and Fort Lee (in New Jersey) and is an SBA preferred lender nationwide. Wilshire State Bank is a community bank with a focus on commercial real estate lending and general commercial banking, with its primary market encompassing the multi-ethnic populations of the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Wilshire Bancorp's strategic goals include increasing shareholder and franchise value by continuing to grow its multi-ethnic banking business and expanding its geographic reach to other similar markets with strong levels of small business activity.
Statements concerning future performance, events, or any other guidance on future periods constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. Specific factors include, but are not limited to, loan production and sales, credit quality, the ability to expand net interest margin, the ability to continue to attract low-cost deposits, success of consolidation of operations and expansion efforts, competition in the marketplace and general economic conditions. The financial information contained in this release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in Wilshire Bancorp's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as they may be amended from time to time. Results of operations for the most recent quarter are not necessarily indicative of operating results for any future periods. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to management and are subject to change. Since management will only provide guidance at certain points during the year, Wilshire Bancorp will not necessarily update the information. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect financial results are included in filings by Wilshire Bancorp with the Securities and Exchange Commission.