SAEHAN BANK ENTERS INTO REGULATORY CONSENT ORDER

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saehan Bancorp (OTCBB: SAEB - News) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Saehan Bank, entered into a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the California State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) effective as of December 7, 2009.

In making the announcement, Chung Hoon Youk commented, “Economic conditions have created a challenging banking environment, and all regulatory agencies are working closely with banks to provide the regulatory guidance and direction to help banks maintain financial soundness.” Mr. Youk continued, “Saehan Bank will work closely with the FDIC and DFI to attain full compliance with the agreement as quickly as possible.”

The agreement outlines specific remedial actions the FDIC and DFI want the Bank to take to improve the soundness of the Bank. These actions include retaining qualified management, eliminating the Bank’s reliance on brokered deposits, refraining from engaging in any new lines of business or establishing any branches or other offices of the Bank without the prior approval of the Bank’s regulators, furnishing the FDIC and DFI with quarterly progress reports on the Bank’s compliance with the consent order, and notifying the Bank’s shareholder of the issuance and requirements of the consent order. The Bank is also required to obtain prior approval from the FDIC and DFI of director and management changes.

The Bank is also required to attain a Tier 1 capital leverage ratio of 8% within 60 days of the consent order and to attain and thereafter maintain a Tier 1 capital leverage ratio of 10% within 90 days of the consent order. The Bank must also develop and adopt a plan to meet and maintain the capital requirements of the consent order and to comply with the FDIC’s Statement of Policy on Risk-Based Capital. The level of capital required is in addition to a fully funded allowance for loan and lease losses. Mr. Youk stated, “All bank regulatory agencies monitor capital ratios closely, particularly in this challenging economy.” He continued, “We have a number of capital raising options available to the bank and we are weighing these options while proceeding with efforts to raise capital through private sources in the U.S. and in South Korea.”

The consent order does not impact the ability of the Bank to transaction business with banking customers. Saehan Bank will continue to serve customers in all areas including providing access to lines of credit, paying competitive rates on deposits, and processing banking transactions. All customer deposits are fully insured to the highest limits set by the FDIC, which are $250,000 for individually titled accounts and $250,000 for individually titled IRA accounts. In addition, Saehan Bank participates in the FDIC Transaction Account Guarantee Program. Under this program, all non-interest bearing transaction accounts are fully guaranteed by the FDIC for the entire amount of the account. The guarantee also applies to interest bearing transaction accounts with interest rates of 0.50 percent or less. This program is in addition to and separate from the coverage available under the FDIC general deposit insurance rules.

Mr. Youk commented, “We take the entry of this order seriously and are committing the necessary resources to this effort in order to achieve full compliance as quickly as possible and no component of this order places any restrictions on our ability to continue to provide exceptional service to our customers.” In closing, Mr. Youk stated, “Our board, management and staff are making every effort to successfully meet the directives set forth in the consent order.”

Founded in 1990, Saehan Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saehan Bancorp, a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Saehan Bank serves the Greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas. The Bank focuses on general commercial banking business, offering commercial banking services to small and medium-size businesses, professionals and retail customers. Visit www.SaehanBank.com to learn more.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about management’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions that are not historical facts, and other statements identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “should,” “projects,” “seeks,” “estimates” or words of similar meaning.

These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations in the forward-looking statements:

• the risks associated with lending and potential adverse changes in credit quality;
• increased loan delinquency rates;
• the risks presented by a continued economic slowdown, which could adversely affect credit quality, loan collateral values, investment values, liquidity levels, and loan originations;
• changes in market interest rates, which could continue to adversely affect our net interest income and profitability;
• legislative or regulatory changes that adversely affect our business or our ability to complete pending or prospective future acquisitions;
• reduced demand for banking products and services; and
• competition from other financial services companies in our markets; and the Company’s success in managing risks involved in the foregoing.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of publication and Saehan Bancorp does not undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement if the Company later becomes aware that it is not likely to be achieved.

Saehan Bank
Daniel Kim, SVP & CFO
213-637-4802