Los Angeles, May 17, 2026, 02:31 (PDT)
- Hanmi Financial (HAFC) finished Friday at $29.09, slipping 0.72% for the session and off roughly 4.2% from last Friday’s close.
- The $0.28 per share quarterly dividend from the company is scheduled for payment on May 20.
- Regional banks slipped across the board as bond yields climbed and inflation concerns came back.
Hanmi Financial Corp. (HAFC) comes into the week trading lower after dropping 4.2% last week, more than the wider U.S. market. Nasdaq trading was shut for the weekend. HAFC finished Friday at $29.09, down 21 cents, moving in a range from $28.80 to $29.45.
Dividend timing is back in play. Hanmi’s board set a $0.28 quarterly cash dividend per share, going out Wednesday to investors on record by May 4, which puts some attention on income as shares have come down. The yield works out to about 3.9% annualized at Friday’s close.
Rates are still a worry. Hanmi’s recent numbers got a boost from a bigger net interest margin—the difference between income from loans and securities and funding costs. If bond yields push higher and banks fight harder for deposits, defending that margin gets tough.
Regional banks took a hit Friday, with the KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index down 1.26%. The index slipped to 129.91, off from 135.45 a week ago, or a loss of just over 4%.
Wall Street slid Friday with oil prices higher and Treasury yields surging. Investors weighed the latest inflation worries. The S&P 500 closed down 1.2%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.5%. Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 off 2.4% for the day and matching that 2.4% loss for the week.
“There’s a realization that the market had gotten way ahead of itself,” Kenny Polcari, chief market strategist at Slatestone Wealth, told Reuters. He said inflation is still “sticky.” That’s important for bank stocks. Higher-for-longer rates can lift loan yields but push up funding costs and credit risk. Reuters
Hanmi posted first-quarter net income of $22.6 million, or 75 cents a diluted share, up from $21.2 million, or 70 cents, in the fourth quarter. The update was better than the recent stock action might indicate. The Los Angeles-based parent of Hanmi Bank last reported these results.
Hanmi CEO Bonnie Lee pointed to “net interest margin expansion” and “stable expense levels” for the quarter. Deposits were up 1.8% to $6.8 billion. Net interest margin increased 10 basis points to 3.38% as Hanmi paid a lower average rate on interest-bearing deposits. Hanmi Financial Corporation
Commercial and industrial, or C&I lending, is a bright spot for the bank. C&I loans made up 17.6% of total loans, and the company said new banking relationships pushed production in that segment up 64%. Nonperforming assets, which include loans and other assets that aren’t generating payments, dropped to 0.16% of total assets.
Peers weren’t immune. Hope Bancorp slipped roughly 1.0% Friday, PCB Bancorp was down 1.7%, and RBB Bancorp gave up 1.8%. The moves point to broader selling across smaller community and regional banks, not just a reaction to Hanmi news.
Week looks straightforward, but action could pick up. Hanmi’s dividend payout is due Wednesday. Monday will show if traders see last week’s slide as a yield chance or move Hanmi with other regional banks pulling back.
Hanmi warns that higher rates could push against its results. The bank has pointed to inflation, shifting rates, tough loan and deposit competition, and softer economic trends as risks to margins, lending, and funding. If yields climb more or the battle for deposits heats up again, last quarter’s gain in margins may not hold.
