Hope Bancorp, Inc. (HOPE) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, and welcome to the Virtual Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Hope Bancorp, Inc. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to Chairman, President and CEO of Hope Bancorp, Mr. Kevin S. Kim. Mr. Kim, the floor is yours.

Good morning, stockholders, ladies and gentlemen. It's my pleasure to welcome you to the Hope Bancorp, Inc. 2023 Virtual Annual Meeting of Stockholders. This year's annual meeting is once again being conducted solely online via a live webcast. Here with me today, we have Ms. Julianna Balicka, our Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Angelee Harris, our General Counsel; and Ms. Angie Yang, our Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. On behalf of my colleagues and the Board of Directors, I would like to thank all of our stockholders, customers and communities for their overwhelming trust and patronage through the years. Thanks to your gracious support, we continue to stand proud as one of the leading Asian-American banks in the nation. All of our directors are present today participating virtually through our online platform, and let me introduce them briefly. Mr. Scott Yoon-Suk Whang is our Lead Independent Director. Mr. Whang also serves as Chair of our Nomination and Governance Committee. Mr. Steven Koh is our Honorary Chairman of the Board. Mr. Donald Byun is an Independent Director and Chair of Bank of Hope's Directors Loan Committee. Mr. Jinho Doo is an Independent Director. Ms. Daisy Ha is an Independent Director. Mr. Joon Kyung Kim is an Independent Director and Chair of our Audit Committee. Mr. William Lewis is an Independent Director and Chair of our Board Risk Committee. Mr. David Malone is a Director. Ms. Lisa Pai is a Director. Ms. Mary Thigpen is an Independent Director. Mr. Dale Zuehls is an Independent Director and Chair of our Human Resources and Compensation Committee. Altogether, the composition of our Board of Directors represent a diverse group, including a variety of perspectives, skills, ages, genders, cultures and ethnicities, all of which contribute to effective decision-making, oversight and risk management. And as a group, we are committed to serving the best interest of our stockholders and all of our stakeholders. Together with the leadership of our executive management team, I am confident in our ability to lead Bank of Hope to a greater tomorrow. I would also like to recognize Ms. Eve Rogers and Mr. Cliff Hong from Crowe LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, who are participating virtually. It is now 10:34 a.m. Pacific Time. And as Chairman, President and CEO of Hope Bancorp, I would now like to call the Hope Bancorp 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to order. At this point, I will ask Ms. Angelee Harris, who will serve as Secretary of this annual meeting, to conduct the formal business of today's virtual meeting of stockholders.

Thank you, Chairman, Kim. Please be advised that following the formal business of the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. As noted by the operator at the beginning of this meeting, you may submit questions or comments at any time by clicking on the Q&A tab. Ms. Angie Yang has been selected by the Board to serve as the Inspector of Elections. As such, Ms. Yang will count and certify the votes cast by proxy or in person via the Internet for the purpose of quorum and voting. It is currently 10:35 a.m. Pacific Time, and I declare that the polls are now officially open. We will close the polls in a few minutes when all votes cast online have been counted. Most of you have already voted online or sent in your votes by proxy. If you have no intention to change your vote, no further action is required. If, however, you have not yet voted and wish to vote in person via the Internet at the meeting today, you may do so now by clicking on the link provided online. You must have logged in with your control number included in your notice or your proxy card to cast your vote online. If you wish to change your vote, you may also do so by clicking on the link provided online. The minutes of last year's annual meeting are available and any stockholder wishing to inspect the minutes may submit a request to me by e-mail at angelee.harris@bankofhope.com. A list of stockholders entitled to vote at this meeting is available for examination by any stockholder desiring to do so by submitting a request to me by e-mail at angelee.harris@bankofhope.com. We have not received notice from any stockholders as required under our bylaws of any other matter to be considered at today's meeting. Therefore, no other proposals may be properly introduced by stockholders at this meeting. It is now 10:37 a.m. Pacific Time, and the online polls for voting will now be closed. This meeting is being held pursuant to the call of the Board of Directors and the legal notice of the meeting, which was included as part of notice of Internet availability of proxy materials and was delivered on or about April 5, 2023, along with the proxy card to each of our stockholders of record as of March 20, 2023, the record date for the annual meeting. A copy of the legal notice and the affidavit of mailing will be incorporated into the minutes of this meeting. All stockholders of the meeting record date of March 20, 2023, are entitled to vote today. We now need to establish that there is a quorum to start this meeting. A quorum is established by the presence at the meeting, either by proxy or in person via the Internet of more than 50% of the outstanding shares. Ms. Yang, could you please report about the quorum?

Thank you, Ms. Harris. As the Inspector of Elections, I certify the following: the total number of outstanding shares as of March 20, 2023, and entitled to vote at this annual meeting is 119,697,349. The preliminary count of shares voting at this meeting, either in person via Internet or cast by proxy, is at least 105,894,184 shares, representing approximately 88.5% of total shares outstanding and entitled to vote. And accordingly, we have a quorum for the transaction of business at today's meeting.

Thank you, Ms. Yang. Next, we will proceed with voting on each of the proposals that were described in the proxy statement. The first proposal is the election of directors to serve on the Hope Bancorp Board until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Ms. Yang, please report about the vote for this proposal.

I certify that the following 12 nominees have received the highest number of votes, which account for an affirmative majority of votes cast: Mr. Kevin Kim, Mr. Scott Yoon-Suk Whang, Mr. Steven Koh, Mr. Donald Byun, Mr. Jinho Doo, Ms. Daisy Ha, Mr. Joon Kyung Kim, Mr. William Lewis, Mr. David Malone, Ms. Lisa Pai, and Ms. Mary Thigpen and Mr. Dale Zuehls. Accordingly, all 12 nominees have been elected to the Board of Directors to serve until next year's Annual Stockholders Meeting.

Thank you, Ms. Yang. The second proposal is the ratification of Crowe LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. Ms. Yang, please report about the votes for this proposal.