- Business
- Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (WIBC) operates as a bank holding company that provides a range of commercial banking products and services through its subsidiary Wilshire Bank, a California state-chartered commercial bank; core offerings include commercial real estate loans for retail shopping centers, office buildings, industrial properties, warehouses, hotels, and apartments; commercial business loans to small and medium-sized enterprises; small business administration (SBA) guaranteed lending; trade finance services such as letters of credit, documentary collections, export and import lines of credit; warehouse lines of credit to mortgage originators; residential mortgage loans; and traditional deposit products including checking, savings, and time deposits. The company maintains over 35 full-service branches across Southern California, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, and the greater New York City metropolitan area, supplemented by loan production offices in California, Colorado, Georgia, Washington, and other states focused on SBA and residential mortgage originations. Founded prior to 2005 with headquarters at 3200 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, Wilshire Bancorp targets businesses and consumers, particularly in underserved markets, with a diversified loan portfolio totaling approximately $3.84 billion and matching deposits. In a major strategic development completed on July 29, 2016, Wilshire Bancorp merged with BBCN Bancorp, Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1 billion, forming Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOPE) as the surviving entity with Bank of Hope as its banking subsidiary; this merger of equals created the largest Korean-American bank in the U.S., combining 85 branches across nine states including Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, while enhancing capabilities in commercial real estate, SBA lending, and trade finance. No significant acquisitions, partnerships, funding rounds, or operational changes for Wilshire Bancorp have been reported since the 2016 merger, under which its standalone operations ceased and ticker WIBC delisted.