OP Bancorp Reports First Quarter Result of 2021

OP Bancorp (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: OPBK), the holding company of Open Bank (the “Bank”), today reported unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2021. Net income for the first quarter of 2021 was $5.1 million, or $0.33 per diluted common share, compared to net income of $3.8 million, or $0.25 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2020, and net income of $3.3 million, or $0.21 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2020.

“I am pleased to report a record quarter with the quarterly net income of $5.1 million. During the first quarter, we have put our priority in assisting our existing and new customers with the second draw of SBA PPP loans and have originated 1,336 loans in the amount of $74.2 million. We have also began processing the forgiveness of the first draw of PPP loans which totaled $22.9 million during the quarter. We are expecting to close the purchase of SBA loan portfolio of Hana Small Business Lending, Inc. in the second quarter of 2021. As the vaccine distribution is accelerated and the counties begin to allow reopening and increased capacity of businesses, we are confident that most of our business customers will soon resume their operation to full capacity. The focus in managing risks and maintaining safe and sound banking operations will continue to remain as our highest priority,” commented Min Kim, President and Chief Executive Officer of OP Bancorp and Open Bank.

Results of Operations

The reported interest income and yield on our loan portfolio are impacted by a number of components, including changes in the average contractual interest rate earned on loans and the amount of discount accretion on SBA loans. The following table reconciles both the contractual interest income and yield on our loan portfolio to the reported interest income and yield for the periods indicated.

Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2021 increased 7 basis points to 3.80% from 3.73% for the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily due to a 19 basis point decrease in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities, partially offset by a 3 basis point decrease in the reported yield on interest-earning assets.

Net interest income before provision for loan losses for the first quarter of 2021 was $12.8 million, an increase of $574,000, or 4.7%, compared to $12.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily due to a $317,000 decrease in interest expense and a $257,000 increase in interest income.

Interest income on securities available for sale and other investments for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $21,000, or 5.8%, to $348,000, compared to $369,000 for the fourth quarter of 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a $21,000 decrease in interest income on securities available for sale. The decrease was the result of an 8 basis point decrease in the yield on the average balance of securities available for sale in the period, which is primarily due to lower yields on securities purchased during the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.

Interest income from contractual interest rates on loans for the first quarter of 2021 increased $10,000, or 0.1%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, reflecting an increase of $52.3 million, or 4.7% in the average balance of loans, partially offset by a 12 basis point decrease in average contractual interest rate on loans. The amount of discount accretion on SBA loans for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $112,000 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 due to a decrease in SBA loan payoffs. The reported interest income on loans, net of SBA discount accretions and other components, for the first quarter of 2021 increased $278,000, or 2.1%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

Interest expense for the first quarter of 2021 was $877,000, a decrease of $317,000, or 26.5%, compared to $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The decrease was primarily due to downward adjustments of the Bank’s deposit rates during the fourth quarter, partially offset by an increase of $23.5 million, or 3.5%, in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities.

Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2021 decreased 15 basis points to 3.80% from 3.95% for the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to a 103 basis point decrease in the reported yield on interest-earning assets, partially offset by a 127 basis point decrease in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities.

Net interest income before provision for loan losses for the first quarter of 2021 increased $1.6 million, or 14.7%, to $12.8 million, compared to $11.1 million for the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to a $2.4 million decrease in interest expense, partially offset by a $713,000 decrease in interest income.

Interest income on securities available for sale and other investments for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $303,000, or 46.6%, to $348,000, compared to $651,000, for the first quarter of 2020. The interest income on other investments decreased $220,000 as a result of a 123 basis point decrease in the yield on the average balance of Fed funds sold and other investments in the period. The interest income on securities available for sale decreased $83,000, primarily due to a 131 basis point decrease in the yield on the average balance of securities available for sale and higher premium amortizations from accelerated prepayments during the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020.

Interest income from contractual interest rates on loans for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $922,000, or 7.0%, compared to the first quarter of 2020, reflecting a 104 basis point decrease in average contractual interest rate on loans. The decrease in the average contractual interest rate was primarily due to cumulative market rate cuts of 150 basis points by the Federal Reserve in the first quarter of 2020. The decrease in interest income from contractual interest was partially offset by an increase of $167.1 million, or 16.7% in average balance of loans. The amount of discount accretion on SBA loans for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $51,000 compared to the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to a decrease in SBA loan payoffs, partially offset by an increase in monthly discount accretions in line with an increase in SBA loan balance at March 31, 2021, compared to March 31, 2020. The reported interest income on loans, net of SBA discount accretions and other components, for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $410,000, or 3.0%, compared to the first quarter of 2020.

Interest expense for the first quarter of 2021 decreased $2.4 million, or 72.8%, to $877,000, compared to $3.2 million for the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to the Bank’s downward adjustments in deposit rates after the rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in March of 2020 and a decrease of $25.4 million, or 3.5%, in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities.

The following tables show the asset yields, liability costs, net interest spread, and net interest margin for the periods indicated, along with the percentage changes in the periods indicated.

The Bank recorded $620,000 in provision for loan losses for the first quarter of 2021, which includes $636,000 for accrued interest receivables on deferred loans and loans that are no longer on deferral but have not fully caught up on their accrued interest, and $12,000 in net reversal from loss factor change and loan balance change. Management continues to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative factors on all loan types. The Bank recorded a provision for loan losses of $1.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 and $743,000 for the first quarter of 2020.

Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2021 was $3.0 million, a decrease of $426,000, or 12.6%, from $3.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily due to a decrease of $306,000 in gain on sale of loans and a decrease of $275,000 in other income, partially offset by an increase of $164,000 in loan servicing fees from a decrease in SBA loan payoffs. Gain on sale of loans for the first quarter of 2021 was $1.9 million from the sale of $22.4 million in SBA loans with an average premium of 10.51%, whereas gain on sale of loans for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $2.2 million from the sale of $28.5 million in SBA loans with an average premium of 8.83%. The decrease in other income was primarily due to a gain from a property sale during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2021 was $3.0 million, an increase of $670,000, compared to $2.3 million for the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to an increase of $727,000 in gain on sale of loans and an increase of $139,000 in loan servicing fees, partially offset by a decrease of $94,000 in service charges on deposits and a decrease of $102,000 in other income. Gain on sale of loans for the first quarter of 2020 was $1.2 million from the sale of $17.5 million in SBA loans with an average premium of 8.41%. The increase of $139,000 in loan servicing fees was due to a decrease in SBA loan payoffs during the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020.

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2021 was $8.0 million, a decrease of $446,000, or 5.3%, compared to $8.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $874,000 in salary and employee benefits, partially offset by an increase of $115,000 promotion and advertising expense, an increase of $107,000 in foundation donation and other contributions expenses, and an increase of $110,000 in other expenses. The decrease in salary and employee benefits was primarily due to an increase in deferred loan origination costs from originating 1,336 SBA’s second draw Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for an aggregate loan balance of $74.2 million during the quarter. The increase in promotion and advertising expense was primarily due to a reduction in promotion and advertising expense in the fourth quarter of 2020, and the increase in foundation donation expense was a result of the increase in net income in the first quarter of 2021.

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2021 was $8.0 million, a decrease of $241,000, or 2.9%, compared to $8.2 million for the first quarter of 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $409,000 in salary and employee benefits and a decrease of $117,000 in director’s fees expense, partially offset by an increase of $177,000 in foundation donation and other contributions expenses. The decrease in salary and employee benefits was primarily due to the aforementioned increase in deferred loan origination costs for SBA PPP loans, partially offset by additional accruals made to employee incentives during the first quarter of 2021. The decrease in director’s expense was due to a decrease of $108,000 in restricted stock unit expense resulting from the full vesting of the restricted stock units in July 2020.

Income tax provision was $2.1 million for the first quarter, $1.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, and $1.2 million for the first quarter of 2020. The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2021 was 28.8%, compared to 28.4% for the fourth quarter of 2020 and 26.1% for the first quarter of 2020. The higher effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020 was primarily due to realizing a lower amount of tax benefits as a result of a decrease in the number of non-qualified stock option exercises.

Balance Sheet

Total assets were $1.46 billion at March 31, 2021, an increase of $88.5 million, or 6.5%, compared to $1.37 billion at December 31, 2020, and an increase of $245.7 million, or 20.3%, compared to $1.21 billion at March 31, 2020.

Gross loans, net of unearned income, were $1.16 billion at March 31, 2021, an increase of $56.1 million, or 5.1%, from $1.10 billion at December 31, 2020, and an increase of $159.3 million, or 16.0%, from $996.6 million at March 31, 2020.

The following table shows new loan originations for the periods indicated.

Loan payoffs were $59.9 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared to $41.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, and $44.3 million for the first quarter of 2020.

Total deposits were $1.29 billion at March 31, 2021, an increase of $85.3 million, or 7.1%, from $1.20 billion at December 31, 2020, and an increase of $233.2 million, or 22.2%, from $1.05 billion at March 31, 2020. Noninterest-bearing deposits were $572.0 million at March 31, 2021, compared to $522.8 million at December 31, 2020, and $304.8 million at March 31, 2020. The increase in noninterest-bearing deposits during the first quarter of 2021 was primarily due to the SBA PPP loans funded to customers’ noninterest-bearing deposits and new accounts opened during the quarter.

Noninterest-bearing deposits accounted for 44.5% of total deposits at March 31, 2021, compared to 43.6% at December 31, 2020, and 29.0% at March 31, 2020. The following table shows the Bank’s deposits, by type, as a percentage of total deposits as of the periods indicated.

The Bank had $5.0 million in borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, which has a 0% interest rate under the Zero-Rate Recovery Advance Program, FHLB’s pandemic relief initiative. The Bank had no borrowings from the FHLB at March 31, 2020.

The Company’s consolidated regulatory capital ratios exceeded regulatory guidelines and the Bank’s capital ratios exceeded the regulatory guidelines for a well-capitalized financial institution under the Basel III regulatory requirements at March 31, 2021, as summarized in the following table.

The Company has repurchased 3,830 shares of its common stock at an average price of $7.50 during the first quarter of 2021. Since the announcement of the initial stock repurchase program in January 2019, the Company has repurchased a total of 1.57 million shares of its common stock at an average repurchase price of $8.58 per share through March 31, 2021.

Asset Quality

Nonperforming loans were $1.1 million at March 31, 2021, an increase of $163,000 from $985,000 at December 31, 2020 and a decrease of $385,000 from $1.5 million at March 31, 2020.

The Bank had no other real estate owned (OREO) at March 31, 2021, December 31, 2020 and March 31, 2020.

Nonperforming assets were $1.1 million, or 0.08% of total assets, at March 31, 2021, compared to $985,000, or 0.07% of total assets, at December 31, 2020, and $1.5 million, or 0.13% of total assets, at March 31, 2020. Nonperforming loans to gross loans were 0.10% at March 31, 2021, compared to 0.09% at December 31, 2020, and 0.15% at March 31, 2020.

Total classified loans were $6.6 million, or 0.57% of gross loans, at March 31, 2021, compared to $7.3 million, or 0.67% of gross loans, at December 31, 2020, and $3.6 million, or 0.36% of gross loans, at March 31, 2020. The decrease of $739,000 in classified loans from December 31, 2020 was primarily due to two SBA real estate loans, which were reclassified to watch grade loans. Classified loans of $5.9 million as of March 31, 2021 are fully secured by real estate collaterals.

The following tables shows the trend of classified loans by loan type as of the date stated.

The Bank had 14 loans in deferred status with an aggregate balance of $19.0 million, or 1.6% of total loans at March 31, 2021, compared to 18 loans in deferred status with an aggregate balance of $31.2 million, or 2.7% of total loans at December 31, 2020. Since we started loan deferments under the CARES Act in the second quarter of 2020, 171 loans with an aggregate balance of $217.8 million have resumed regular payments or have been paid off through March 31, 2021.

The allowance for loan losses (ALL) was $15.3 million at March 31, 2021, compared to $15.4 million at December 31, 2020, and $10.7 million at March 31, 2020. The ALL was 1.33% of gross loans at March 31, 2021, 1.40% of gross loans at December 31, 2020, and 1.08% of gross loans at March 31, 2020. Excluding fully guaranteed SBA PPP loans, the ALL was 1.47% of gross loans at March 31, 2021, 1.48% of gross loans at December 31, 2020, and 1.08% of gross loans at March 31, 2020. The ALL was 1,337% of nonperforming assets at March 31, 2021, 1,558% of nonperforming assets at December 31, 2020, and 701% at March 31, 2020.

About OP Bancorp

OP Bancorp, the holding company for Open Bank (the “Bank”), is a California corporation whose common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol, “OPBK.” The Bank is engaged in the general commercial banking business in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Clara Counties, California, and Carrollton, Texas and is focused on serving the banking needs of small- and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and residents with a particular emphasis on Korean and other ethnic minority communities. The Bank currently operates with nine full branch offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fashion District, Los Angeles Koreatown, Gardena, Buena Park, and Santa Clara, California and Carrollton, Texas. The Bank also has four loan production offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Aurora, Colorado, and Lynnwood and Seattle, Washington. The Bank commenced its operations on June 10, 2005 as First Standard Bank and changed its name to Open Bank in October 2010. Its headquarters is located at 1000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Los Angeles, California 90017. Phone 213.892.9999; www.myopenbank.com Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters set forth herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including forward-looking statements relating to the Company’s current business plans and expectations regarding future operating results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control, include, but are not limited to: the uncertainties related to the coronavirus pandemic including, but not limited to, the potential adverse effect of the pandemic on the economy, our employees and customers, and our financial performance; the impact of the federal CARES Act and the significant additional lending activities undertaken by the Company in connection with the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program enacted thereunder, including risks to the Company with respect to the uncertain application by the Small Business Administration of new borrower and loan eligibility, forgiveness and audit criteria; business and economic conditions, particularly those affecting the financial services industry and our primary market areas; our ability to successfully manage our credit risk and the sufficiency of our allowance for loan losses; factors that can impact the performance of our loan portfolio, including real estate values and liquidity in our primary market areas, the financial health of our commercial borrowers, the success of construction projects that we finance, including any loans acquired in acquisition transactions; our ability to effectively execute our strategic plan and manage our growth; interest rate fluctuations, which could have an adverse effect on our profitability; liquidity issues, including fluctuations in the fair value and liquidity of the securities we hold for sale and our ability to raise additional capital, if necessary; external economic and/or market factors, such as changes in monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve, inflation or deflation, changes in the demand for loans, and fluctuations in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits, which may have an adverse impact on our financial condition; continued or increasing competition from other financial institutions, credit unions, and non-bank financial services companies, many of which are subject to different regulations than we are; challenges arising from unsuccessful attempts to expand into new geographic markets, products, or services; restraints on the ability of Open Bank to pay dividends to us, which could limit our liquidity; increased capital requirements imposed by banking regulators, which may require us to raise capital at a time when capital is not available on favorable terms or at all; a failure in the internal controls we have implemented to address the risks inherent to the business of banking; inaccuracies in our assumptions about future events, which could result in material differences between our financial projections and actual financial performance; changes in our management personnel or our inability to retain motivate and hire qualified management personnel; disruptions, security breaches, or other adverse events, failures or interruptions in, or attacks on, our information technology systems; disruptions, security breaches, or other adverse events affecting the third-party vendors who perform several of our critical processing functions; an inability to keep pace with the rate of technological advances due to a lack of resources to invest in new technologies; risks related to potential acquisitions; political developments, uncertainties or instability, catastrophic events, acts of war or terrorism, or natural disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, drought, pandemic diseases (such as the coronavirus) or extreme weather events, any of which may affect services we use or affect our customers, employees or third parties with which we conduct business; incremental costs and obligations associated with operating as a public company; the impact of any claims or legal actions to which we may be subject, including any effect on our reputation; compliance with governmental and regulatory requirements, including the Dodd-Frank Act and others relating to banking, consumer protection, securities and tax matters, and our ability to maintain licenses required in connection with commercial mortgage origination, sale and servicing operations; changes in federal tax law or policy; and our ability the manage the foregoing and other factors set forth in the Company’s public reports. We describe these and other risks that could affect our results in Item 1A. “Risk Factors,” of our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in our other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.