Hope Bancorp Acquires SMBC MANUBANK's Commercial Banking Unit
Hope Bancorp announced that Bank of Hope, its bank subsidiary, has entered into a definitive agreement under which Bank of Hope will acquire the Commercial Banking Unit, or CBU, of SMBC MANUBANK, a wholly owned subsidiary of SMBC Americas Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, or SMBC. In addition, Bank of Hope and SMBC intend to enter into a collaboration and partnership agreement to provide commercial and consumer banking services to SMBC's Japanese midsize business and retail customers needing banking services in the U.S. This transaction aligns with Hope Bancorp's core strategies to enhance its commercial banking capabilities, expand services and product offerings to the Asian subsidiary and middle market business in the United States, and continue to grow its core funding. The acquisition adds approximately $2.5B in loans and $2.7B in deposits, based on the CBU balances as of December 31, 2025. Key financial benefits of the transaction include: Significant Earnings Accretion; Short Tangible Book Value Earn-back; Capital Deployment and Profitability Enhancement; Diversified Core Deposit Base. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, net assets purchased will be settled in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition includes the CBU's loan portfolio and deposits. The transaction has been approved unanimously by the Boards of Directors of Hope Bancorp and Bank of Hope as well as SMBC Americas Holdings, Inc. and SMBC MANUBANK and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Keefe Bruyette and Woods, a Stifel Company is acting as financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is acting as a legal advisor to Hope. RBC Capital Markets is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell as legal advisor to SMBC.
