LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- May 6, 2008 -- Saehan Bancorp (OTCBB:SAEB) today reported results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2008.?
Net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $925,000, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared with $1.4 million, or $0.12 per diluted share a year ago.? The return on average equity for the first quarter of 2008 was 5.93 percent and the return on average assets was 0.46 percent compared with 10.52 percent and 0.84 percent, respectively, for the first quarter of 2007.?

Other highlights for the first quarter of 2008 included:

• Total assets increased $184.9 million, or 27.3 percent from the same period a year ago.
• Net loans increased $154.8 million, or 27.0 percent, over the same period a year ago.
• Total deposits increased $124.0 million, or 23.0 percent, over a year ago.
• Net interest margin was 3.64 percent, compared with 4.67 percent for the first quarter of 2007.
• Efficiency ratio remained the same at 69.8 percent, compared with the first quarter of 2007.
• The ratio of nonperforming loans to net loans was 2.17 percent compared with 0.41 percent at March 31, 2007.
• Noninterest income was $1.4 million, compared with $2.0 million for the first quarter of 2007.
• Noninterest expense was $6.0 million, compared with $6.4 million for the first quarter of 2007.

?¡°First quarter results reflect the impact of a challenging economic environment¡± said Benjamin Hong, president and chief executive officer.? ¡°Despite the difficult operating environment, management continues to focus on the execution and implementation of its long-term strategic plan.? The bank achieved its loan and deposit growth targets as planned, but the profitability suffered due to the adversarial interest rate environment.¡±

Net interest income before provision for loan losses was $7.1 million in the first quarter of 2008 compared with $7.2 million in the same period a year ago.? Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2008 was 3.64 percent compared with 4.67 percent in the first quarter a year earlier.? Net interest margin was adversely affected by the Federal Reserve¡¯s decision to aggressively lower the Federal Funds Rate during the quarter and the increase in non-accrual loans in the first quarter of 2008.
Noninterest income in the first quarter of 2008 totaled $1.4 million, compared with $2.0 million a year ago.? The reduction was primarily attributable to a $790,000 decrease in gain on sale of loans, partially offset by a $124,000 increase in service charges on deposit accounts. Gain on sale of loans declined substantially as a result of significantly lower SBA market activity and reduced sales premiums paid on SBA loans sold to the secondary market.
Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2008 was $6.0 million, a decrease of $455,000 from the first quarter last year.? The decrease in noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2008 was primarily attributable to lower employee compensation expense, partially offset by higher occupancy and equipment expenses.? The efficiency ratio for the first quarter of 2008 was 69.8 percent compared with 69.8 percent in the first quarter of 2007.?
Nonperforming loans were $15.6 million at March 31, 2008 up $13.3 million from $2.4 million at March 31, 2007.? Nonperforming loans represented 1.82 percent of total assets at March 31, 2008.? The provision for loan losses was $1.1 million for the first quarter of 2008 compared with $660,000 a year ago.?
Total assets were $861.3 million as of March 31, 2008-- representing an increase of $184.9 million, or 27.3 percent, over the $676.4 million in total assets reported on March 31, 2007.? Total deposits as of March 31, 2008 increased $124.0 million, or 23.0 percent, to $662.4 million from $538.4 million as of March 31, 2007.
Shareholders equity increased to $62.6 million at March 31, 2008 from $54.4 million at March 31, 2007. Shareholders equity primarily increased as a result of the company earnings and exercise of stock options. Capital ratios continue to be well above the ¡°Well-Capitalized¡± guidelines established by the regulatory agencies. The Leverage Ratio was 10.31 percent, the Tier 1 Risk-based Capital Ratio was 10.63 percent and the Total Risk-based Capital Ratio was 11.75 percent.

About Saehan Bancorp
Saehan Bancorp is a bank holding company with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Saehan Bank, offers a comprehensive range of financial solutions to meet the needs of the Korean-American community in Los Angeles.? Saehan Bancorp is committed to satisfying customers and creating shareholder value. Its ten retail branch offices, International Department, SBA Department and Financial Services Department of Saehan Bank focus on fulfilling these commitments to customers and shareholders.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the projected, including descriptions of plans or objectives of its management for future operations, products or services, and forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other measures of economic performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.They often include the words ¡°believe,¡± ¡°expect,¡± ¡°anticipate,¡± ¡°intend,¡± ¡°plan,¡± ¡°estimate,¡± or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as ¡°will,¡± ¡°would,¡± ¡°should,¡± ¡°could,¡± or ¡°may.¡±

Saehan Bancorp
Daniel Kim, 213-637-4802
or
Maier & Company, Inc.
Gary S. Maier, 310-442-9852