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Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Risks Related to Our Business

A decline in general business and economic conditions and any regulatory responses to such conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our business and operations are sensitive to general business and economic conditions in the United States, generally, and particularly in the states of California, Illinois, New Jersey, Hawaii and New York, and the Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Las Vegas, Nevada metropolitan areas. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions could lead to credit quality concerns related to repayment ability and collateral protection as well as reduced demand for the products and services we offer. In recent years there has been a gradual improvement in the U.S. economy as evidenced by a rebound in the housing market, lower unemployment and higher equities markets; however, economic growth has been uneven, and opinions vary on the strength and direction of the economy. Uncertainties also have arisen regarding the potential for a reversal or renegotiation of international trade agreements, as the current U.S. administration has with China, the European Union and the United Kingdom. In addition, concerns about the performance of international economies, especially in Europe and emerging markets, and economic conditions in Asia, particularly the economies of China and Taiwan, can impact the economy and financial markets here in the United States. If the national, regional and local economies experience worsening economic conditions, including high levels of unemployment, our growth and profitability could be constrained. Weak economic conditions are characterized by, among other indicators, deflation, elevated levels of unemployment, fluctuations in debt and equity capital markets, increased delinquencies on mortgage, commercial and consumer loans, residential and commercial real estate price declines, lower home sales and commercial activity, and fluctuations in the commercial Federal Housing Administration financing sector. All of these factors are generally detrimental to our business. Our business is significantly affected by monetary and other regulatory policies of the U.S. federal government, its agencies and government-sponsored entities. Changes in any of these policies are influenced by macroeconomic conditions and other factors that are beyond our control, are difficult to predict and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our business depends on our ability to attract and retain Asian-American immigrants as clients.

Our business is based on successfully attracting and retaining Asian-American immigrants as clients for both our non-qualified residential mortgage loans and deposits. We may be limited in our ability to attract Asian-American clients to the extent the U.S. adopts restrictive domestic immigration laws. Changes to U.S. immigration policies as proposed by the current administration that restrain the flow of immigrants may inhibit our ability to meet our goals and budgets for non-qualified SFR mortgage loans and deposits, which may adversely affect our net interest income and net income.

Risks Related to Our Loans

Because a significant portion of our loan portfolio is comprised of real estate loans, negative changes in the economy affecting real estate values and liquidity could impair the value of collateral securing our real estate loans and result in loan and other losses.

At December 31, 2021, approximately 87.2% of our loan portfolio was comprised of loans with real estate as a primary or secondary component of collateral. As a result, adverse developments affecting real estate values in our market areas could increase the credit risk associated with our real estate loan portfolio. The market value of real estate can fluctuate significantly in a short period of time as a result of market conditions in the area in which the real estate is located. Adverse changes affecting real estate values and the liquidity of real estate in one or more of our markets could increase the credit risk associated with our loan portfolio, significantly impair the value of property pledged as collateral on loans and affect our ability to sell the collateral upon foreclosure without a loss or additional losses, which could result in losses that would adversely affect profitability. Such declines and losses would have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and growth prospects. In addition, if hazardous or toxic substances are found on properties pledged as collateral, the value of the real estate could be impaired. If we foreclose on and take title to such properties, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage. Environmental laws may require us to incur substantial expenses to address unknown liabilities and may materially reduce the affected property’s value or limit our ability to use or sell the affected property.

Many of our loans are to commercial borrowers, which have a higher degree of risk than other types of loans.

At December 31, 2021, we had $1.8 billion of commercial loans, consisting of $1.2 billion of CRE loans and $268.7 million of C&I loans for which real estate is not the primary source of collateral, and $303.1 million of C&D loans. C&I loans represented 9.2% of our total loan portfolio at December 31, 2021. Commercial loans are often larger and involve greater risks than other types of lending. Because payments on such loans are often dependent on the successful operation or development of the property or business involved, repayment of such loans is often more sensitive than other types of loans to adverse conditions in the real estate market or the general business climate and economy. Accordingly, a downturn in the real estate market and a challenging business and economic environment may increase our risk related to commercial loans, particularly commercial real estate loans. Unlike residential mortgage loans, which generally are made on the basis of the borrowers’ ability to make repayment from their employment and other income and which are secured by real property whose value tends to be more easily ascertainable, commercial loans typically are made on the basis of the borrowers’ ability to make repayment from the cash flow of the commercial venture. Our C&I loans are primarily made based on the identified cash flow of the borrower and secondarily on the collateral underlying the loans. Most often, this collateral consists of accounts receivable, inventory and equipment. Inventory and equipment may depreciate over time, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value based on the success of the business. If the cash flow from business operations is reduced, the borrower’s ability to repay the loan may be impaired. Due to the larger average size of each commercial loan as compared with other loans such as residential loans, as well as collateral that is generally less readily-marketable, losses incurred on a small number of commercial loans could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

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We have a concentration in commercial real estate which could cause our regulators to restrict our ability to grow.

As a part of their regulatory oversight, the federal regulators have issued the CRE Concentration Guidance on sound risk management practices with respect to a financial institution’s concentrations in commercial real estate lending activities. These guidelines were issued in response to the agencies’ concerns that rising CRE concentrations might expose institutions to unanticipated earnings and capital volatility in the event of adverse changes in the commercial real estate market. The CRE Concentration Guidance identifies certain concentration levels that, if exceeded, will expose the institution to additional supervisory analysis with regard to the institution’s CRE concentration risk. The CRE Concentration Guidance is designed to promote appropriate levels of capital and sound loan and risk management practices for institutions with a concentration of CRE loans. In general, the CRE Concentration Guidance establishes the following supervisory criteria as preliminary indications of possible CRE concentration risk: (1) the institution’s total construction, land development and other land loans represent 100% or more of total risk-based capital; or (2) total CRE loans as defined in the regulatory guidelines represent 300% or more of total risk-based capital, and the institution’s CRE loan portfolio has increased by 50% or more during the prior 36-month period. Pursuant to the CRE Concentration Guidelines, loans secured by owner occupied commercial real estate are not included for purposes of CRE Concentration calculation. We believe that the CRE Concentration Guidance is applicable to us. As of December 31, 2021, our CRE loans represented 217% of our total risk-based capital, as compared to 205% and 166% as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We actively work to manage our CRE concentration and we have discussed the CRE Concentration Guidance with the FDIC and believe that our underwriting policies, management information systems, independent credit administration process, and monitoring of real estate loan concentrations are currently sufficient to address the CRE Concentration Guidance. Nevertheless, the FDIC could become concerned about our CRE loan concentrations, and they could limit our ability to grow by restricting their approvals for the establishment or acquisition of branches, or approvals of mergers or other acquisition opportunities.

Our SFR loan product consists primarily of non-qualified SFR mortgage loans which may be considered less liquid and more risky.

As of December 31, 2021, our SFRmortgage loan portfolio amounted to $1.0 billion or 34.3% of our held for investment loan portfolio. As of that date, 92.3% of our SFR mortgage loans consisted of non-qualified mortgage loans, which are considered to have a higher degree of risk and are less liquid than qualified mortgage loans. We offer two SFRmortgage products, a low loan-to-value, alternative document hybrid non-qualified SFRmortgage loan, or non-qualified SFRmortgage loan, and a qualified SFRmortgage loan. We originated $291.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and $55.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 of non-qualified SFRmortgage loans. We originated qualified SFR mortgage loans of $180.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 of and $53.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2021, our non-qualified SFRmortgage loans had an average loan-to-value of 56.24% and an average FICO score of 760. As of December 31, 2021, 5.5% of our total SFRmortgage loan portfolio was originated to foreign nationals. The non-qualified single-family residential mortgage loans that we originate are designed to assist Asian-Americans who have recently immigrated to the United States and as such are willing to provide higher down payment amounts and pay higher interest rates and fees in return for reduced documentation requirements. Non-qualified SFRmortgage loans are considered less liquid than qualified SFRmortgage loans because such loans are not able to be securitized and can only be sold directly to other financial institutions. Such non-qualified loans may be considered more risky than qualified mortgage loans although we attempt to address this enhanced risk through our underwriting process, including requiring larger down payments and, in some cases, interest reserves.

We sold in the secondary market $63.1 million of our non-qualified mortgage loans for the year ended December 31, 2021, and we realized $1.6 million gains on the sale of non-qualified SFR mortgage loans for the year ended December 31, 2021. We also have a concentration in our SFRsecondary sale market, as a substantial portion of our non-qualified mortgage loans have been sold to two banks; however, we are currently selling SFR mortgage loans to three banks. Although, we are taking steps to reduce our dependence on these banks, and we are attempting to expand the number of banks that we sell our non-qualified SFRmortgages, we may not be successful expanding our sales market for our non-qualified mortgage loans. These loans also present pricing risk as rates change, and our sale premiums cannot be guaranteed. Further, the criteria for our loans to be purchased by other banks may change from time to time, which could result in a lower volume of corresponding loan originations.

Mortgage production historically, including refinancing activity, declines in rising interest rate environments. While we have been experiencing historically low interest rates over the last few years, this low interest rate environment likely will not continue indefinitely. Consequently, when interest rates increase further, there can be no assurance that our mortgage production will continue at current levels. Nonetheless, our SFR mortgage loan production is primarily originated to Asian Americans and Asian-American immigrants, who we believe are not as sensitive to changes in interest rates.

The non-guaranteed portion of SBA loans that we retain on our balance sheet as well as the guaranteed portion of SBA loans that we sell could expose us to various credit and default risks.

We originated $37.8 million of SBA loans (excluding PPP loans) for the year ended December 31, 2021. We sold $20.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, of the guaranteed portion of our SBA loans. Consequently, as of December 31, 2021, we held $76.1 million of SBA loans on our balance sheet, $58.2 million of which consisted of the non-guaranteed portion of SBA loans and $17.9 million or 23.5% consisted of the guaranteed portion of SBA loans which are intended to be sold later in 2021. The non-guaranteed portion of SBA loans have a higher degree of credit risk and risk of loss as compared to the guaranteed portion of such loans. We attempt to limit this risk by generally requiring such loans be collateralized and limiting the overall amount that can be held on our balance sheet to 75% of our total capital.

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When we sell the guaranteed portion of SBA loans in the ordinary course of business, we are required to make certain representations and warranties to the purchaser about the SBA loan and the manner in which they were originated. Under these agreements, we may be required to repurchase the guaranteed portion of the SBA loan if we have breached any of these representations or warranties, in which case we may record a loss. In addition, if repurchase and indemnity demands increase on loans that we sell from our portfolios, our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. Further, we generally retain the non-guaranteed portions of the SBA loans that we originate and sell, and to the extent the borrowers of such loans experience financial difficulties, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted.

Curtailment of government guaranteed loan programs could affect a segment of our business.

A significant segment of our business consists of originating and periodically selling U.S. government guaranteed loans, in particular those guaranteed by the SBA. Presently, the SBA guarantees 75% of the principal amount of each qualifying SBA loan originated under the SBA’s 7(a) loan program. There is no assurance that the U.S. government will maintain the SBA 7(a) loan program or if it does, that such guaranteed portion will remain at its current level. In addition, from time to time, the government agencies that guarantee these loans reach their internal limits and cease to guarantee future loans. In addition, these agencies may change their rules for qualifying loans or Congress may adopt legislation that would have the effect of discontinuing or changing the loan guarantee programs. Non-governmental programs could replace government programs for some borrowers, but the terms might not be equally acceptable. Therefore, if these changes occur, the volume of loans to small business, industrial and agricultural borrowers of the types that now qualify for government guaranteed loans could decline. Also, the profitability associated with the sale of the guaranteed portion of these loans could decline as a result of market displacements due to increases in interest rates, and could cause the premiums realized on the sale of the guaranteed portions to decline from current levels. As the funding and sale of the guaranteed portion of SBA 7(a) loans is a major portion of our business and a significant portion of our noninterest income, any significant changes to the funding for the SBA 7(a) loan program may have an unfavorable impact on our prospects, future performance and results of operations.

We may be adversely impacted by the transition from LIBOR as a reference rate.

In 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority announced that after 2021 it will no longer compel banks to submit the rates required to calculate LIBOR. In November 2020, the administrator of LIBOR announced it will consult on its intention to extend the retirement date of certain offered rates whereby the publication of the one week and two month LIBOR offered rates will cease after December 31, 2021; but, the publication of the remaining LIBOR offered rates will continue until June 30, 2023. Given consumer protection, litigation, and reputation risks, the bank regulatory agencies have indicated that entering into new contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate after December 31, 2021 would create safety and soundness risks and that they will examine bank practices accordingly. Therefore, the agencies encouraged banks to cease entering into new contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate as soon as practicable and in any event by December 31, 2021.

There is uncertainty as to what rate or rates may become accepted alternatives to LIBOR, or what effect of any such changes in views or alternatives may be on the markets for LIBOR-indexed financial instruments. In response, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (“ARRC”) was convened in the U.S. to explore alternative reference rates and supporting processes. The ARRC identified a potential successor rate to LIBOR in the SOFR and crafted the Paced Transition Plan to facilitate the transition. However, there are conceptual and technical differences between LIBOR and SOFR that remain unresolved at this time.

We have a significant number of loans, some securities and borrowings, and some deposit products with attributes that are either directly or indirectly dependent on LIBOR. We have not yet determined the optimal reference rate(s) that we will ultimately use for our financial instruments going forward. We have organized a multidisciplinary project team to identify operational and contractual best practices, assess our risks, identify the detailed list of all financial instruments impacted, manage the transaction, facilitate communication with our customers and counterparties, and monitor the impacts. We have drafted and begun including fallback language in our loan agreements.

The transition from LIBOR could create considerable costs and additional risk. The uncertainty as to the nature and effect of the discontinuance of LIBOR may adversely affect the value of, the return on or the expenses associated with our financial assets and liabilities that are based on or are linked to LIBOR, may require extensive changes to the contracts that govern these LIBOR-based products as well as our systems and processes, and could impact our pricing and interest rate risk models, our loan product structures, our funding costs, our valuation tools and result in increased compliance and operational costs. In addition, the market may transition away from LIBOR to an alternative reference rate could prompt inquires or other actions from regulators in respect of our preparation and readiness for the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate, and result in disputes, litigation or other actions with counterparties regarding the interpretation and enforceability of certain fallback language in LIBOR-based financial instruments. Furthermore, failure to adequately manage this transition process with our customers could adversely impact our reputation.

There are also operational issues which may create a delay in the transition to SOFR or other substitute indices, leading to uncertainty across the industry. The implementation of a substitute index or indices for the calculation of interest rates under our loan agreements with our borrowers may incur significant expenses in effecting the transition, may result in reduced loan balances if borrowers do not accept the substitute index or indices, and may result in disputes or litigation with customers over the appropriateness or comparability to LIBOR of the substitute index or indices, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. These reforms may cause LIBOR to cease to exist, new methods of calculating LIBOR to be established or the establishment of multiple alternative reference rate(s). These consequences cannot be entirely predicted and could have an adverse impact on the market value for or value of LIBOR-linked securities, loans, and other financial obligations or extensions of credit held by or due to us.

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Real estate construction loans are based upon estimates of costs and values associated with the complete project. These estimates may be inaccurate, and we may be exposed to significant losses on loans for these projects.

Real estate construction loans, including land development loans, comprised approximately 10.3% of our total loan portfolio as of December 31, 2021, and such lending involves additional risks because funds are advanced upon the security of the project, which is of uncertain value prior to its completion, and costs may exceed realizable values in declining real estate markets. Because of the uncertainties inherent in estimating construction costs and the realizable market value of the completed project and the effects of governmental regulation of real property, it is relatively difficult to evaluate accurately the total funds required to complete a project and the related loan-to-value ratio. As a result, construction loans often involve the disbursement of substantial funds with repayment dependent, in part, on the success of the ultimate project and the ability of the borrower to sell or lease the property, rather than the ability of the borrower or guarantor to repay principal and interest. If our appraisal of the value of the completed project proves to be overstated or market values or rental rates decline, we may have inadequate security for the repayment of the loan upon completion of construction of the project. If we are forced to foreclose on a project prior to or at completion due to a default, we may not be able to recover all of the unpaid balance of, and accrued interest on, the loan as well as related foreclosure and holding costs. In addition, we may be required to fund additional amounts to complete the project and may have to hold the property for an unspecified period of time while we attempt to dispose of it.

The risks inherent in construction lending may affect adversely our results of operations. Such risks include, among other things, the possibility that contractors may fail to complete, or complete on a timely basis, construction of the relevant properties; substantial cost overruns in excess of original estimates and financing; market deterioration during construction; and lack of permanent take-out financing. Loans secured by such properties also involve additional risk because they have no operating history. In these loans, loan funds are advanced upon the security of the project under construction (which is of uncertain value prior to completion of construction) and the estimated operating cash flow to be generated by the completed project. Such properties may not be sold or leased so as to generate the cash flow anticipated by the borrower. A general decline in real estate sales and prices across the United States or locally in the relevant real estate market, a decline in demand for residential real estate, economic weakness, high rates of unemployment, and reduced availability of mortgage credit, are some of the factors that can adversely affect the borrowers’ ability to repay their obligations to us and the value of our security interest in collateral, and thereby adversely affect our results of operations and financial results.

Nonperforming assets take significant time to resolve and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, and could result in further losses in the future.

As of December 31, 2021, our nonperforming loans (which consist of nonaccrual loans and loans modified under troubled debt restructurings) totaled $20.7 million, or 0.71%, of our held for investment (HFI) loan portfolio, and our nonperforming assets (which include nonperforming loans plus OREO) totaled $21.0 million, or 0.50%, of total assets. In addition, we had $17.6 million in accruing loans that were 30-89 days delinquent as of December 31, 2021.

Our nonperforming assets adversely affect our net income in various ways. We do not record interest income on nonaccrual loans or OREO, thereby adversely affecting our net income and returns on assets and equity, increasing our loan administration costs and adversely affecting our efficiency ratio. When we take collateral in foreclosure and similar proceedings, we are required to mark the collateral to its then-fair market value, which may result in a loss. These nonperforming loans and other real estate owned also increase our risk profile and the level of capital our regulators believe is appropriate for us to maintain in light of such risks. The resolution of nonperforming assets requires significant time commitments from management and can be detrimental to the performance of their other responsibilities. If we experience increases in nonperforming loans and nonperforming assets, our net interest income may be negatively impacted and our loan administration costs could increase, each of which could have an adverse effect on our net income and related ratios, such as return on assets and equity.

Adverse conditions in Asia and elsewhere could adversely affect our business.

Although we believe less than 1% of our loans and less than 2% of our deposits are with customers that have economic and cultural ties to Asia, we are still likely to feel the effects of adverse economic and political conditions in Asia, including the effects of rising inflation or slowing growth and volatility in the real estate and stock markets in China and other regions. U.S. and global economic policies, military tensions, and unfavorable global economic conditions may adversely impact the Asian economies. In addition, pandemics and other public health crises or concerns over the possibility of such crises could create economic and financial disruptions in the region. A significant deterioration of economic conditions in Asia could expose us to, among other things, economic and transfer risk, and we could experience an outflow of deposits by those of our customers with connections to Asia. Transfer risk may result when an entity is unable to obtain the foreign exchange needed to meet its obligations or to provide liquidity. This may adversely impact the recoverability of investments with, or loans made to, such entities. Adverse economic conditions in Asia, and in China or Taiwan in particular, may also negatively impact asset values and the profitability and liquidity of our customers who operate in this region.

The Company is a California state chartered bank with operations in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Nevada. We have no overseas operations, including in China and the Far East. However, as a Chinese-American business bank our client base may have customer and operational contact in the Far East, which could be adversely affected by the current coronavirus outbreak. Management will monitor this situation for its impact on our clients.

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Risks Related to Our Deposits

Our deposit portfolio includes significant concentrations and a large percentage of our deposits are attributable to a relatively small number of clients.

As a commercial bank, we provide services to a number of clients whose deposit levels vary considerably and have a significant amount of seasonality. At December 31, 2021, 154 clients maintained balances (aggregating all related accounts, including multiple business entities and personal funds of business owners) in excess of $2.0 million. This amounted to $1.6 billion or approximately 47.3% of the Bank’s total deposits as of December 31, 2021. In addition, our ten largest depositor relationships accounted for approximately 26.1% of our deposits at December 31, 2021. Our largest depositor relationship accounted for approximately 14.7% of our deposits at December 31, 2021. These deposits can and do fluctuate substantially. As of December 31, 2021, one trust company depositor is maintaining demand deposit balances in the range of $400 to $600 million with the Bank. The loss of any combination of these depositors, or a significant decline in the deposit balances due to ordinary course fluctuations related to these customers’ businesses, would adversely affect our liquidity and require us to raise deposit rates to attract new deposits, purchase federal funds or borrow funds on a short-term basis to replace such deposits. Depending on the interest rate environment and competitive factors, low cost deposits may need to be replaced with higher cost funding, resulting in a decrease in net interest income and net income. While these events could have a material impact on the Bank’s results, the Bank expects, in the ordinary course of business, that these deposits will fluctuate and believes it is capable of mitigating this risk, as well as the risk of losing one of these depositors, through additional liquidity, and business generation in the future. However, should a significant number of these customers leave the Bank, it could have a material adverse impact on the Bank.

Risk Related to our Allowance for Loan Losses (“ALLL”)

If we do not effectively manage our credit risk, we may experience increased levels of delinquencies, nonperforming loans and charge-offs, which could require increases in our provision for loan losses.

There are risks inherent in making any loan, including risks inherent in dealing with individual borrowers, risks of nonpayment, risks resulting from uncertainties as to the future value of collateral and cash flows available to service debt and risks resulting from changes in economic and market conditions. We cannot guarantee that our credit underwriting and monitoring procedures will reduce these credit risks, and they cannot be expected to completely eliminate our credit risks. If the overall economic climate in the United States, generally, or our market areas, specifically, declines, our borrowers may experience difficulties in repaying their loans, and the level of nonperforming loans, charge-offs and delinquencies could rise and require further increases in the provision for loan losses, which would cause our net income, return on equity and capital to decrease.

Our ALLL may prove to be insufficient to absorb potential losses in our loan portfolio.

We establish our ALLL and maintain it at a level that management considers adequate to absorb probable loan losses based on an analysis of our portfolio and market environment. The ALLL represents our estimate of probable losses in the portfolio at each balance sheet date and is based upon relevant information available to us. The allowance contains provisions for probable losses that have been identified relating to specific borrowing relationships, as well as probable losses inherent in the loan portfolio and credit undertakings that are not specifically identified. Additions to the ALLL, which are charged to earnings through the provision for loan losses, are determined based on a variety of factors, including an analysis of the loan portfolio, historical loss experience and an evaluation of current economic conditions in our market areas. The actual amount of loan losses is affected by changes in economic, operating and other conditions within our markets, which may be beyond our control, and such losses may exceed current estimates.

As of December 31, 2021, our ALLL as a percentage of total loans was 1.12% and as a percentage of total nonperforming loans was 158.8%. Although management believes that the ALLL is adequate to absorb losses on any existing loans that may become uncollectible, we may be required to take additional provisions for loan losses in the future to further supplement the ALLL, either due to management’s decision to do so or because our banking regulators require us to do so. Our bank regulatory agencies will periodically review our ALLL and the value attributed to nonaccrual loans or to real estate acquired through foreclosure and may require us to adjust our determination of the value for these items. These adjustments may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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The current expected credit loss standard established by the FASB Board will require significant data requirements and changes to methodologies.

In the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the FASB decided to review how banks estimate losses in the ALLL calculation, and it issued the final CECL standard on June 16, 2016. Currently, the impairment model used by financial institutions is based on incurred losses, and loans are recognized as impaired when there is no longer an assumption that future cash flows will be collected in full under the originally contracted terms. This model will be replaced by the CECL model that will become effective for the Bank on December 31, 2022 (as the implementation date was deferred by the FASB) in which financial institutions will be required to use historical information, current conditions and reasonable forecasts to estimate the expected loss over the life of the loan. The Bank has run CECL models on its loan portfolio, and although the new CECL standard is currently not expected to have a significant impact on the Bank’s ALLL, the transition to the CECL model will require significantly greater data requirements and changes to methodologies to accurately account for expected losses. There can be no assurance that the Bank will not be required to increase its reserves and ALLL as a result of the implementation of CECL.

On December 21, 2018, federal bank regulatory agencies approved a final rule, effective as of April 1, 2019, modifying their regulatory capital rules and providing an option to phase in over a three-year period the initial regulatory capital effects of the CECL methodology. The Company is currently evaluating the magnitude of the one-time cumulative adjustment to its allowance and of the ongoing impact of the CECL model on its loan loss allowance and results of operations, together with the final rule that became effective as of April 1, 2019, to determine if the phase-in option will be elected. The Company will adopt CECL on December 31, 2022.

Risks Related to our Acquisition Strategy

Our strategy of pursuing growth via acquisitions exposes us to financial, execution and operational risks that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and growth prospects.

Since late 2010, we have been pursuing a strategy of leveraging our human and financial capital by acquiring other financial institutions in our target markets. We have completed several acquisitions in recent years and we may continue pursuing this strategy.

Our acquisition activities could require us to use a substantial amount of cash, other liquid assets, and/or incur debt. In addition, if goodwill recorded in connection with our potential future acquisitions were determined to be impaired, then we would be required to recognize a charge against our earnings, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations during the period in which the impairment was recognized.

There are risks associated with an acquisition strategy, including the following:

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In addition to the foregoing, we may face additional risks in acquisitions to the extent we acquire new lines of business or new products, or enter new geographic areas, in which we have little or no current experience, especially if we lose key employees of the acquired operations. Future acquisitions or business combinations also could cause us to incur debt or contingent liabilities or cause us to issue equity securities. These actions could negatively impact the ownership percentages of our existing shareholders, our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may not find candidates which meet our criteria for such transactions, and if we do find such a situation, our shareholders may not agree with the terms of such acquisition or business relationship.

In addition, our ability to grow may be limited if we cannot make acquisitions. We compete with other financial institutions with respect to proposed acquisitions. We cannot predict if or when we will be able to identify and attract acquisition candidates or make acquisitions on favorable terms.

We cannot assure you that we will be successful in overcoming these risks or any other problems encountered in connection with acquisitions. Our inability to overcome risks associated with acquisitions could have an adverse effect on our ability to successfully implement our acquisition growth strategy and grow our business and profitability.

If the goodwill that we recorded in connection with a business acquisition becomes impaired, it could require charges to earnings, which would have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Goodwill represents the amount by which the cost of an acquisition exceeded the fair value of net assets we acquired in connection with the purchase. We review goodwill for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset might be impaired.

We determine impairment by comparing the implied fair value of the reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. Any such adjustments are reflected in our results of operations in the periods in which they become known. As of December 31, 2021, our goodwill totaled $69.3 million. We evaluated our goodwill and intangibles in the first, second and fourth quarters of 2020, and the fourth quarter of 2021. The impairment evaluation did not identify an impairment of goodwill or the core deposit intangible in those quarters of 2020 and 2021. However, there were write-downs of mortgage servicing rights of $50,000 in the third quarter of 2020 and $366,000 in the second quarter of 2020. The Company recorded an impairment writedown reversal of $416,000 on servicing assets in 2021. There can be no assurance that our future evaluations of goodwill will not result in findings of impairment and related write-downs, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to continue growing our business, particularly if we cannot make acquisitions or increase loans and deposits through organic growth, either because of an inability to find suitable acquisition candidates, constrained capital resources or otherwise.

We have grown our consolidated assets from $300.5 million as of December 31, 2010 to $4.2 billion as of December 31, 2021, and our deposits from $236.4 million as of December 31, 2010 to $3.4 billion as of December 31, 2021. Some of this growth has resulted from several acquisitions that we have completed since 2010. While we intend to continue to grow our business through strategic acquisitions coupled with organic loan and deposit growth, we anticipate that much of our future growth will be dependent on our ability to successfully implement our acquisition growth strategy. A risk exists, however, that we will not be able to identify suitable additional candidates for acquisitions.

In addition, even if suitable targets are identified, we expect to compete for such businesses with other potential bidders, many of which may have greater financial resources than we have, which may adversely affect our ability to make acquisitions at attractive prices. Although we have historically been disciplined in pricing our acquisitions, there can be no assurance that the higher multiples being paid in bank acquisitions will not adversely impact our ability to execute acquisitions in the future or adversely affect the return we earn from such acquisitions.

Furthermore, many acquisitions we may wish to pursue would be subject to approvals by bank regulatory authorities, and we cannot predict whether any targeted acquisitions will receive the required regulatory approvals. Moreover, our ability to continue to grow successfully will depend to a significant extent on our capital resources. It also will depend, in part, upon our ability to attract deposits and lessen our dependence on larger deposit accounts, identify favorable loan and investment opportunities and on whether we can continue to fund growth while maintaining cost controls and asset quality, as well on other factors beyond our control, such as national, regional and local economic conditions and interest rate trends.

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Paydowns on our acquired loan portfolio will result in reduced total loan yield, net interest income and net income if not replaced with other high-yielding loans.

Our total loan yield and net interest margin has been positively affected by the accretion of purchased loan discounts relating to loans acquired in prior acquisitions. As our acquired loan portfolio is paid down, we expect downward pressure on our total loan yield and net interest income to the extent that the run-off is not replaced with other high-yielding loans. The accretable yield represents the excess of the net present value of expected future cash flows over the acquisition date fair value and includes both the expected coupon of the loan and the discount accretion. For example, the total loan yield for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was 5.12% and 5.18%, respectively, and the yield generated using only the expected coupon would have been 5.08% and 5.09%, during the same respective periods. Notwithstanding, if we are unable to replace loans in our existing portfolio with comparable high-yielding loans or a larger volume of loans, our total loan yield, net interest income and net income could be adversely affected.

As we expand our business outside of California markets, we will encounter risks that could adversely affect us.

We primarily operate in California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois markets with a concentration of Chinese-American individuals and businesses; however, one of our strategies is to expand beyond California into other domestic markets that have concentrations of Chinese-American individuals and businesses. We also currently have operations in Las Vegas, Nevada and Honolulu, Hawaii, including operating a branch office, and are currently looking for additional branch expansion opportunities in the San Francisco Bay area and Houston and, secondarily, San Diego and Riverside counties in southern California, and Phoenix. In the course of this expansion, we will encounter significant risks and uncertainties that could have a material adverse effect on our operations. These risks and uncertainties include increased expenses and operational difficulties arising from, among other things, our ability to attract sufficient business in new markets, to manage operations in noncontiguous market areas, to comply with all of the various local laws and regulations, and to anticipate events or differences in markets in which we have no current experience.

Risks Related to Interest Rates

Fluctuations in interest rates may reduce net interest income and otherwise negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Shifts in short-term interest rates may reduce net interest income, which is the principal component of our earnings. Net interest income is the difference between the amounts received by us on our interest-earning assets and the interest paid by us on our interest-bearing liabilities. When interest rates rise, the rate of interest we pay on our assets, such as loans, rises more quickly than the rate of interest that we receive on our interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits, which may cause our profits to increase. When interest rates decrease, the rate of interest we pay on our assets, such as loans, declines more quickly than the rate of interest that we receive on our interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits, which may cause our profits to decrease. The impact on earnings is more adverse when the slope of the yield curve flattens, that is, when short-term interest rates increase more than long-term interest rates or when long-term interest rates decrease more than short-term interest rates.

Interest rate increases often result in larger payment requirements for our borrowers, which increases the potential for default. At the same time, the marketability of the underlying property may be adversely affected by any reduced demand resulting from higher interest rates. In a declining interest rate environment, there may be an increase in prepayments on loans as borrowers refinance their mortgages and other indebtedness at lower rates. At December 31, 2021, total loans held for investment were 73.5% of our earning assets and exhibited a positive 8% sensitivity to rising interest rates in a 100 basis point parallel shock.

Changes in interest rates also can affect the value of loans, securities and other assets. An increase in interest rates that adversely affects the ability of borrowers to pay the principal or interest on loans may lead to an increase in nonperforming assets and a reduction of income recognized, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. Further, when we place a loan on nonaccrual status, we reverse any accrued but unpaid interest receivable, which decreases interest income. Subsequently, we continue to have a cost to fund the loan, which is reflected as interest expense, without any interest income to offset the associated funding expense. Thus, an increase in the amount of nonperforming assets would have an adverse impact on net interest income.

Rising interest rates will result in a decline in value of the fixed-rate debt securities we hold in our investment securities portfolio. The unrealized losses resulting from holding these securities would be recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and reduce total shareholders’ equity. Unrealized losses do not negatively impact our regulatory capital ratios; however, tangible common equity and the associated ratios would be reduced. If debt securities in an unrealized loss position are sold, such losses become realized and will reduce our regulatory capital ratios.

If short-term interest rates remain at their historically low levels for a prolonged period, and assuming longer term interest rates fall, we could experience net interest margin compression as our interest earning assets would continue to reprice downward while our interest-bearing liability rates could fail to decline in tandem. This would have a material adverse effect on our net interest income and our results of operations.

We could recognize losses on securities held in our securities portfolio, particularly if interest rates increase or economic and market conditions deteriorate.

As of December 31, 2021, the fair value of our securities portfolio was approximately $374.8 million. Factors beyond our control can significantly influence the fair value of securities in our portfolio and can cause potential adverse changes to the fair value of these securities. For example, fixed-rate securities acquired by us are generally subject to decreases in market value when interest rates rise. Additional factors include, but are not limited to, rating agency downgrades of the securities or our own analysis of the value of the security, defaults by the issuer or individual mortgagors with respect to the underlying securities, and continued instability in the credit markets. Any of the foregoing factors could cause other-than-temporary impairment in future periods and result in realized losses. The process for determining whether impairment is other-than-temporary usually requires difficult, subjective judgments about the future financial performance of the issuer and any collateral underlying the security in order to assess the probability of receiving all contractual principal and interest payments on the security. Because of changing economic and market conditions affecting interest rates, the financial condition of issuers of the securities and the performance of the underlying collateral, we may recognize realized and/or unrealized losses in future periods, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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Other Risks Related to Our Business

We are exposed to risks related to fraud and cyber-attacks.

The Company is continuously enhancing and expanding our digital products and services to meet client and business needs with desired outcomes. These digital products and services often include storing, transmitting, and processing confidential client, employee, monetary, and business information. Due to the nature of this information, and the value it has for internal and external threat actors, we, and our third-party service providers, continue to be subject to cyber-attacks and fraud activity that attempts to gain unauthorized access, misuse information and information systems, steal information, disrupt or degrade information systems, spread malicious software, and other illegal activities.

We believe we have robust preventive, detective, and administrative safeguards and security controls to minimize the probability and magnitude of a material event. However, because the tactics and techniques used by threat actors to bypass safeguards and security controls change frequently, and often are not recognized until after an event has occurred, we may be unable to anticipate future tactics and techniques, or to implement adequate and timely protective measures.

Cybersecurity, and the continued development and enhancement of controls, processes, and practices designed to protect client information, systems, computers, software, data, and networks from attack, damage, or unauthorized access remain a priority for the Company. As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to continue to enhance, modify, and refine our protective measures against these evolving threats.

To date, we have no knowledge of a successful cyber-attack or other material information security breach affecting our systems. However, our risk and exposure to these matters remains heightened because of, among other things, the evolving nature of these threats, the continuation of a remote work environment for our employees and service providers and our plans to continue to implement and expand digital banking services, expand operations, and use third-party information systems that includes cloud-based infrastructure, platforms, and software. Recent instances of attacks specifically targeting financial services businesses indicate that the risk to our systems remains significant. If we or a critical third party vendor were to experience a cyber-attack or information security breach, we could suffer damage to our reputation, productivity losses, response costs associated with investigation and resumption of services, and incur substantial additional expenses, including remediation expenses costs associated with client notification and credit monitoring services, increased insurance premiums, regulatory penalties and fines, and costs associated civil litigation, any of which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, the Company’s clients and vendors rely on technology and systems unmanaged by the Company, such as networking devices, server infrastructure, personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, to contact and conduct business with the Company. If the devices of the Company’s clients or vendors become the target of a cyber-attack, or information security breach, it could result in unauthorized access to, misuse of, or loss of confidential client, employee, monetary, or business information. Threat actors using improperly obtained personal or financial information of consumers can attempt to obtain loans, lines of credit, or other financial products from the Company, or attempt to fraudulently persuade the Company’s employees, clients, or other users of the Company’s systems to disclose confidential information in order to gain improper access to the Company’s information and information systems.

We also face additional costs when our customers become the victims of cyber-attacks. For example, various retailers have reported that they have been the victims of a cyber-attack in which large amounts of their clients’ data, including debit and credit card information, is obtained. Our clients may be the victims of phishing scams, providing cyber criminals access to their accounts, or credit or debit card information. In these situations, we incur costs to replace compromised cards and address fraudulent transaction activity affecting our clients.

Both internal and external fraud and theft are risks. If confidential client, employee, monetary, or business information were to be mishandled or misused, we could suffer significant regulatory consequences, reputational damage, and financial loss. Such mishandling or misuse could include, for example, if such information were erroneously provided to parties who are not permitted to have the information, either by fault of our systems, employees, or counterparties, or if such information were to be intercepted or otherwise inappropriately taken by third parties, or if our own employees abused their access to financial systems to commit fraud against our clients and the Company. These activities can occur in connection with the origination of loans and lines of credit, ACH transactions, wire transactions, ATM transactions, and checking transactions, and result in financial losses as well as reputational damage.

Operational errors can include information system misconfiguration, clerical or record-keeping errors, or disruptions from faulty or disabled computer or telecommunications systems. Because the nature of the financial services business involves a high volume of transactions, certain errors may be repeated or compounded before they are discovered and successfully rectified. Because of the Company’s large transaction volume and its necessary dependence upon automated systems to record and process these transactions, there is a risk that technical flaws, tampering, or manipulation of those automated systems, arising from events wholly or partially beyond its control, may give rise to disruption of service to customers and to financial loss or liability. We are exposed to the risk that our business continuity and data security systems prove to be inadequate.

The occurrence of any of these risks could result in a diminished ability for us to operate our business, additional costs to correct defects, potential liability to clients, reputational intervention, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Liabilities from environmental regulations could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

In the course of our business, we may foreclose and take title to real estate, and could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these properties. We may be held liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for property damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs incurred by these parties in connection with environmental contamination, or may be required to investigate or clear up hazardous or toxic substances, or chemical releases at a property. The costs associated with investigation or remediation activities could be substantial. In addition, as the owner or former owner of any contaminated site, we may be subject to common law claims by third parties based on damages, and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the property. If we ever become subject to significant environmental liabilities, our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

A natural disaster or recurring energy shortage in our geographic markets, especially in California, could harm our business.

We are based in California and at December 31, 2021, approximately 44.1% of the aggregate outstanding principal of our mortgage loans was secured by real estate located in California. In addition, the computer systems that operate our Internet websites and some of their back-up systems are located in California. Historically, California has been vulnerable to natural disasters. Therefore, we are susceptible to the risks of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, wildfires, floods and mudslides. Natural disasters could harm our operations directly through interference with communications, including the interruption or loss of our information technology structure and websites, which could prevent us from gathering deposits, originating loans and processing and controlling our flow of business, as well as through the destruction of facilities and our operational, financial and management information systems. A natural disaster or recurring power outages may also impair the value of our largest class of assets, our loan portfolio, which is comprised substantially of real estate loans. Uninsured or underinsured disasters may reduce borrowers’ ability to repay mortgage loans. Disasters may also reduce the value of the real estate securing our loans, impairing our ability to recover on defaulted loans through foreclosure and making it more likely that we would suffer losses on defaulted loans. California has also experienced energy shortages, which, if they recur, could impair the value of the real estate in those areas affected. Although we have implemented several back-up systems and protections (and maintain business interruption insurance), these measures may not protect us fully from the effects of a natural disaster. The occurrence of natural disasters or energy shortages in California could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Climate change could have a material negative impact on the Company and clients.

The Company’s business, as well as the operations and activities of our clients, could be negatively impacted by climate change. Climate change presents both immediate and long-term risks to the Company and its clients, and these risks are expected to increase over time. Climate change presents multi-faceted risks, including: operational risk from the physical effects of climate events on the Company and its clients’ facilities and other assets; credit risk from borrowers with significant exposure to climate risk; transition risks associated with the transition to a less carbon- dependent economy; and reputational risk from stakeholder concerns about our practices related to climate change, the Company’s carbon footprint, and the Company’s business relationships with clients who operate in carbon-intensive industries.

Federal and state banking regulators and supervisory authorities, investors, and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as important in helping to address the risks related to climate change both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased pressure regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending and investment activities. Given that climate change could impose systemic risks upon the financial sector, either via disruptions in economic activity resulting from the physical impacts of climate change or changes in policies as the economy transitions to a less carbon-intensive environment, the Company may face regulatory risk of increasing focus on the Company’s resilience to climate-related risks, including in the context of stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Ongoing legislative or regulatory uncertainties and changes regarding climate risk management and practices may result in higher regulatory, compliance, credit, and reputational risks and costs.

With the increased importance and focus on climate change, we are making efforts to enhance our governance of climate change-related risks and integrate climate considerations into our risk governance framework. Nonetheless, the risks associated with climate change are rapidly changing and evolving in an escalating fashion, making them difficult to assess due to limited data and other uncertainties. We could experience increased expenses resulting from strategic planning, litigation, and technology and market changes, and reputational harm as a result of negative public sentiment, regulatory scrutiny, and reduced investor and stakeholder confidence due to our response to climate change and our climate change strategy, which, in turn, could have a material negative impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

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We face strong competition from financial services companies and other companies that offer banking and mortgage banking services, which could harm our business.

Our operations consist of offering banking and mortgage banking services to generate both interest and noninterest income. Many of our competitors offer the same, or a wider variety of, banking and related financial services within our market areas. These competitors include national banks, regional banks and other community banks. We also face competition from many other types of financial institutions, including savings and loan institutions, finance companies, brokerage firms, insurance companies, credit unions, mortgage banks and other financial intermediaries. In addition, a number of out-of-state financial intermediaries have opened production offices or otherwise solicit deposits in our market areas. Additionally, we face growing competition from so-called “online businesses” with few or no physical locations, including online banks, lenders and consumer and commercial lending platforms, as well as automated retirement and investment service providers. Increased competition in our markets may result in reduced loans, deposits and commissions and brokers’ fees, as well as reduced net interest margin and profitability. Ultimately, we may not be able to compete successfully against current and future competitors. If we are unable to attract and retain banking and mortgage loan customers and expand our sales market for such loans, we may be unable to continue to grow our business, and our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Legislative and regulatory actions taken now or in the future may increase our costs and impact our business, governance structure, financial condition or results of operations.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by federal, state and local governmental authorities and are subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing requirements and restrictions on part or all of our operations. Federal and state banking regulators have significant discretion and authority to prevent or remedy unsafe or unsound practices or violations of laws or regulations by financial institutions and bank holding companies in the performance of their supervisory and enforcement duties. The exercise of regulatory authority may have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, in order to conduct certain activities, including acquisitions, we are required to obtain regulatory approval. There can be no assurance that any required approvals can be obtained, or obtained without conditions or on a timeframe acceptable to us.

In addition, other new proposals for legislation continue to be introduced in the U.S. Congress that could further substantially increase regulation of the bank and non-bank financial services industries and impose restrictions on the operations and general ability of firms within the industry to conduct business consistent with historical practices. Federal and state regulatory agencies also frequently adopt changes to their regulations or change the manner in which existing regulations are applied. Certain aspects of current or proposed regulatory or legislative changes to laws applicable to the financial industry, if enacted or adopted, may impact the profitability of our business activities, require more oversight or change certain of our business practices, including the ability to offer new products, obtain financing, attract deposits, make loans and achieve satisfactory interest spreads and could expose us to additional costs, including increased compliance costs. These changes also may require us to invest significant management attention and resources to make any necessary changes to operations to comply and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our use of third party vendors and our other ongoing third party business relationships are subject to increasing regulatory requirements and attention.

We regularly use third party vendors as part of our business. We also have substantial ongoing business relationships with other third parties. These types of third party relationships are subject to increasingly demanding regulatory requirements and attention by our federal bank regulators. Recent regulation requires us to enhance our due diligence, ongoing monitoring and control over our third party vendors and other ongoing third party business relationships. In certain cases we may be required to renegotiate our agreements with these vendors to meet these enhanced requirements, which could increase our costs. We expect that our regulators will hold us responsible for deficiencies in our oversight and control of our third party relationships and in the performance of the parties with which we have these relationships. As a result, if our regulators conclude that we have not exercised adequate oversight and control over our third party vendors or other ongoing third party business relationships or that such third parties have not performed appropriately, we could be subject to enforcement actions, including civil money penalties or other administrative or judicial penalties or fines as well as requirements for customer remediation, any of which could have a material adverse effect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

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Risks Related to an Investment in Our Common Stock

The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, and this may make it difficult for you to sell shares of common stock owned by you at times or at prices you find attractive.

The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate widely as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside our control. In addition, the stock market is subject to fluctuations in the share prices and trading volumes that affect the market prices of the shares of many companies. These broad market fluctuations could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Among the factors that could affect our stock price are:

● failure to meet analysts’ revenue or earnings estimates;

● speculation in the press or investment community;

● acquisitions of other banks or financial institutions;

● actions by institutional stockholders;

● fluctuations in the stock price and operating results of our competitors;

● proposed or adopted regulatory changes or developments;

● successful management of reputational risk;

The stock market and, in particular, the market for financial institution stocks, has experienced significant volatility. As a result, the market price of our common stock may be volatile. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate more than usual and cause significant price variations to occur. The trading price of the shares of our common stock and the value of our other securities will depend on many factors, which may change from time to time, including, without limitation, our financial condition, performance, creditworthiness and prospects, future sales of our equity or equity related securities, and other factors identified above in “Forward-Looking Statements,” and in this Item 1A — “Risk Factors.” The capital and credit markets can experience volatility and disruption. Such volatility and disruption can reach unprecedented levels, resulting in downward pressure on stock prices and credit availability for certain issuers without regard to their underlying financial strength. A significant decline in our stock price could result in substantial losses for individual stockholders and could lead to costly and disruptive securities litigation.

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Our dividend policy may change.

We have paid quarterly dividends since our initial public offering in the third quarter of 2017. In 2017 we paid $0.38 per share, in 2018 we paid $0.35 per share, in 2019 we paid $0.40 per share, in 2020 we paid $0.33 per share, and in 2021 we paid $0.51 per share. We have no obligation to pay dividends and we may change our dividend policy at any time without notice to our shareholders. Holders of our common stock are only entitled to receive such cash dividends as our board of directors, in its discretion, may declare out of funds legally available for such payments. Furthermore, consistent with our strategic plans, growth initiatives, capital availability and requirements, projected liquidity needs, financial condition, and other factors, we have made, and will continue to make, capital management decisions and policies that could adversely impact the amount of dividends paid to our common shareholders.

We are a separate and distinct legal entity from our subsidiaries, including the Bank. We receive substantially all of our revenue from dividends from the Bank and RAM, which we use as the principal source of funds to pay our expenses. Various federal and/or state laws and regulations limit the amount of dividends that the Bank and certain of our non-bank subsidiaries may pay us. Such limits are also tied to the earnings of our subsidiaries. If the Bank does not receive regulatory approval or if our subsidiaries’ earnings are not sufficient to make dividend payments to us while maintaining adequate capital levels, our ability to pay our expenses and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.

Shares of certain shareholders may be sold into the public market in the near future. This could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

We have outstanding options to purchase 943,918 shares of our common stock as of December 31, 2021 that may be exercised and sold (assuming all vesting requirements are met), and we have the ability to issue options exercisable for up to an additional 981,853 shares of common stock pursuant to our 2017 Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan. The sale of any of such shares could cause the market price of our stock to decline, and concerns that those sales may occur could cause the trading price of our common stock to decrease or to be lower than it might otherwise be.

Our business and financial results could be impacted materially by adverse results in legal proceedings.

Various aspects of our operations involve the risk of legal liability. We have been, and expect to continue to be, named or threatened to be named as defendants in legal proceedings arising from our business activities. We establish accruals for legal proceedings when information related to the loss contingencies represented by those proceedings indicates both that a loss is probable and that the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, but we do not have accruals for all legal proceedings where we face a risk of loss. In addition, amounts accrued may not represent the ultimate loss to us from those legal proceedings. Thus, our ultimate losses may be higher or lower, and possibly significantly so, than the amounts accrued for loss contingencies arising from legal proceedings, and these losses could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and the value of our common stock.

Future equity issuances could result in dilution, which could cause our common stock price to decline.

We are generally not restricted from issuing additional shares of our common stock, up to the 100 million shares of common stock and 100 million shares of preferred stock authorized in our articles of incorporation, which in each case could be increased by a vote of a majority of our shares. We may issue additional shares of our common stock in the future pursuant to current or future equity compensation plans, upon conversions of preferred stock or debt, upon exercise of warrants or in connection with future acquisitions or financings. If we choose to raise capital by selling shares of our common stock for any reason, the issuance would have a dilutive effect on the holders of our common stock and could have a material negative effect on the market price of our common stock.

Provisions in our charter documents and California law may have an anti-takeover effect, and there are substantial regulatory limitations on changes of control of bank holding companies.

Provisions of our charter documents and the California General Corporation Law (“CGCL”) could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be perceived to be beneficial by our shareholders. Furthermore, with certain limited exceptions, federal regulations prohibit a person or company or a group of persons deemed to be “acting in concert” from, directly or indirectly, acquiring more than 10% (5% if the acquirer is a bank holding company) of any class of our voting stock or obtaining the ability to control in any manner the election of a majority of our directors or otherwise direct the management or policies of our company without prior notice or application to and the approval of the Federal Reserve. Accordingly, prospective investors need to be aware of and comply with these requirements, if applicable, in connection with any purchase of shares of our common stock. Moreover, the combination of these provisions effectively inhibits certain mergers or other business combinations, which, in turn, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

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We are an “emerging growth company”, and the reduced regulatory and reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company”, as described in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of reduced regulatory and reporting requirements that are otherwise generally applicable to public companies. These include, without limitation, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced financial reporting requirements, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation, and exemptions from the requirements of holding non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation and golden parachute payments. Since Bancorp’s IPO, it has been the Company’s intention to take advantage of certain temporary exemptions from various reporting requirements and we are taking advantage of additional transitional relief available to emerging growth companies, which for Bancorp will be available through the end of 2022. We may take advantage of these provisions for up to five years (through December 2022), unless we earlier cease to be an emerging growth company, which would occur if our annual gross revenues exceed $1.0 billion, if we issue more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt in a three-year period, or if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. Investors may find our common stock less attractive if we rely on the exemptions, which may result in a less active trading market and increased volatility in our stock price.

Other Risks

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect our business and our customers, counterparties, employees, and third-party service providers.

The spread of COVID-19 has created a global public-health crisis that has impacted household, business, economic, and market conditions.

Governments have taken unprecedented financial and monetary steps in response to the pandemic. For example, in late March 2020, the CARES Act was enacted to inject more than $2 trillion of financial assistance into the U.S. economy, followed by additional COVID relief legislation of approximately $900 million in December 2020. In March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (“American Rescue Plan”), also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, Pub L. No. 117-2, was enacted to inject an additional $1.9 trillion in financial relief and economic stimulus. The Federal Reserve has taken decisive and sweeping actions as well. Since March 15, 2020, their actions have included a reduction in the target range for the federal funds rate to 0 to 25 basis points, a program to purchase an indeterminate amount of Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds and other investments, and numerous facilities to support the flow of credit to households and businesses.

The full extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our capital, liquidity, and other financial positions and on our business, results of operations, and prospects is still uncertain, and will depend on a number of evolving factors, including:

Our participation in the SBA’s PPP Loan Program exposes us to risks.

Our participation in the SBA PPP loan program exposes us to risks related to noncompliance with the PPP, as well as litigation risk related to our administration of the PPP loan program, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. As of December 31, 2021, our PPP loans were approximately $11.8 million.

The Company participated in the PPP, a loan program administered through the SBA, that was created to help eligible businesses, organizations and self-employed persons fund their operational costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this program, the SBA guarantees 100% of the amounts loaned under the PPP. The PPP opened on April 3, 2020; however, because of the short window between the passing of the CARES Act and the opening of the PPP, there is some ambiguity in the laws, rules and guidance regarding the operation of the PPP, which exposes the Company to risks relating to noncompliance with the PPP. For instance, other financial institutions have experienced litigation related to their process and procedures used in processing applications for the PPP. Any financial liability, litigation costs or reputational damage caused by PPP related litigation could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the Company may be exposed to credit risk on PPP loans if a determination is made by the SBA that there is a deficiency in the manner in which the loan was originated, funded, or serviced. If a deficiency is identified, the SBA may deny its liability under the guaranty, reduce the amount of the guaranty, or, if it has already paid under the guaranty, seek recovery of any loss related to the deficiency from the Company.

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.

We are headquartered in Los Angeles County, California. We currently have nine branches in Los Angeles County located in downtown Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Torrance, Rowland Heights, Monterey Park, Silver Lake, Arcadia, Cerritos, and Diamond Bar. We have one branch in Irvine, Orange County, California. We operate two branches in Ventura County, California, in Westlake Village and in Oxnard. These branches are in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California Metropolitan Statistical Area (“MSA”).

The Company has six branches in the New York City metropolitan area located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. These branches operate in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA. Our Eastern region loan center, located at 4401 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, houses our Eastern region mortgage unit, FNMA servicing, commercial lending and credit administration areas.

In November 2020, we opened a new branch in Edison, New Jersey. We operate one branch in the Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada MSA. In January 2020, we acquired PGB and its three branches in Chicago, Illinois, located in the neighborhoods of Chinatown and Bridgeport. We closed one Chinatown branch in February 2021. In January 2022 we acquired the Honolulu, Hawaii branch of the Bank of the Orient.

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Our headquarters office is located at 1055 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1200, Los Angeles, California 90017. The headquarters is in downtown Los Angeles and houses our risk management unit, including compliance and BSA groups, and our single-family residential mortgage group, SBA lending, commercial lending and credit administration.

Our administrative center is located at 123 East Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, California and houses our branch administration, human resources and administrative groups. Our operation center is located at 7025 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, California and houses the operations, IT and finance groups.

Except for our Monterey Park, California branch, our Buena Park, California operations center, our Eastern region loan center, and two branches in Chicago, all of our offices are leased. We believe that the leases to which we are subject are generally on terms consistent with prevailing market terms. None of the leases are with our directors, officers, beneficial owners of more than 5% of our voting securities or any affiliates of the foregoing.

We own a three story walk up on 86th Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. We are presently renovating the property to become a branch, planned to open prior to June 30, 2022.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

In the normal course of business, we are named or threatened to be named as a defendant in various lawsuits. Management, following consultation with legal counsel, does not expect the ultimate disposition of any or a combination of these matters to have a material adverse effect on our business. However, given the nature, scope and complexity of the extensive legal and regulatory landscape applicable to our business (including laws and regulations governing consumer protection, fair lending, fair labor, privacy, information security and anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws), we, like all banking organizations, are subject to heightened legal and regulatory compliance and litigation risk.

Where appropriate, we establish reserves in accordance with FASB guidance over loss contingencies (ASC 450). The outcome of litigation and other legal and regulatory matters is inherently uncertain, however, and it is possible that one or more of the legal or regulatory matters currently pending or threatened could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, consolidated financial position, and/or results of operations. As of December 31, 2021, the Company does not have any litigation reserves.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (NASDAQ) under the symbol “RBB” on July 27, 2017. Prior to that, there was no public market for our common stock.

Shareholders

As of March 9, 2022, the Company had approximately 177 common stock shareholders of record, and the closing price of the Company’s common stock was $24.11 per share. The number of holders of record does not represent the actual number of beneficial owners of our common stock because securities dealers and others frequently hold shares in “street name” for the benefit of individual owners who have the right to vote shares.

Dividend Policy

It has been our policy to pay quarterly dividends to holders of our common stock, and we intend to generally maintain our current dividend levels. Our dividend policy and practice may change in the future, however, and our board of directors may change or eliminate the payment of future dividends at its discretion, without notice to our shareholders. Any future determination to pay dividends to holders of our common stock will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, banking regulations, contractual restrictions and any other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

Under the terms of our subordinated notes issued in March 2016, November 2018 and March 2021, and the related subordinated note purchase agreements, we are not permitted to declare or pay any dividends on our capital stock if an event of default occurs under the terms of the subordinated notes. Additionally, under the terms of such notes, we are not permitted to declare or pay any dividends on our capital stock if we are not “well capitalized” for regulatory purposes immediately prior to the payment of such dividend. The terms of the debentures underlying our Trust Preferred Securities also prohibit us from paying dividends on our capital stock if we are in deferral of interest payments on those debentures.

As a bank holding company, our ability to pay dividends is affected by the policies and enforcement powers of the Federal Reserve. Information on regulatory restrictions on our ability to pay dividends is set forth in “Part I, Item I – Business – Supervision and Regulation – The Company – Dividend Payments”. In addition, because we are a holding company, we are dependent upon the payment of dividends by the Bank to us as our principal source of funds to pay dividends in the future, if any, and to make other payments. The Bank is also subject to various legal, regulatory and other restrictions on its ability to pay dividends and make other distributions and payments to us, as further discussed in “Part I, Item I – Business – Supervision and Regulation—The Bank—Dividend Payments”.

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Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return on the Company's common stock from July 27, 2017 (the date of the Company’s initial public offering and listing on NASDAQ) through December 31, 2021. The graph compares the Company's common stock with the Russell 2000 Index and the SNL Bank $1B-$5B Index. The graph assumes an investment of $100.00 in the Company's common stock and each index on July 27, 2017 and reinvestment of all quarterly dividends. Measurement points are July 27, 2017 and the last trading day of each year-end through December 31, 2021. There is no assurance that the Company's common stock performance will continue in the future with the same or similar results as shown in the graph.

Period Ending

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

Unregistered Sales and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

On April 22, 2021, the Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program to buy back up to an aggregate of 500,000 shares of our common stock. As of December 31, 2021, the Company may repurchase up to 335,650 shares under the repurchase program. The Company has repurchased 75,849 shares of its outstanding common stock during the fourth quarter of 2021.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(a) (b) (c) (d)

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

The following consolidated selected financial data is derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the five years ended December 31, 2021. This information should be read in connection with our audited consolidated financial statements, related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” appearing elsewhere in this report.

As of and for the Year Ended December 31,

Balance sheet data:

Income statement data:

Per share data (common stock):

Earnings:

Weighted average shares outstanding:

Performance metrics

Cost of average interest-bearing liabilities 0.94 % 1.57 % 2.24 % 1.69 % 1.28 %

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As of and for the Year Ended December 31,

Credit quality Data:

Regulatory and other capital ratios—Company

Regulatory capital ratios—Bank only

(13) Revenue consists of interest income plus non-interest income.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The discussion and analysis of the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements are based upon its audited consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these audited consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

The following is a summary of the more judgmental and complex accounting estimates and principles. In each area, we have identified the variables we believe are most important in our estimation process. We utilize information available to us to make the necessary estimates to value the related assets and liabilities. Actual performance that differs from our estimates and future changes in the key variables and information could change future valuations and impact the results of operations.

● Loans held for investment

● Loans available for sale

● Securities

● ALLL

● Goodwill and other intangible assets

● Deferred income taxes

● Servicing rights

● Income Taxes

● Stock-Based Compensation

Our significant accounting policies are described in greater detail in our 2021 audited financial statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, specifically in “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” which are essential to understanding Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

OVERVIEW

For the year 2021, we reported net earnings of $56.9 million, compared with $32.9 million for the year 2020. This represented an increase of $24.0 million, or 72.8%, over the prior year. The increase in net earnings reflected a $19.6 million increase in net interest income, a $4.7 million increase in non-interest income, $7.9 million decrease in the provision for loan losses and a $1.3 million decrease in non-interest expenses, which was partially offset by a $9.5 million increase in income tax expense.

At December 31, 2021, total assets were $4.2 billion, an increase of $878.1 million, or 26.2%, from total assets of $3.4 billion at December 31, 2020. Interest-earning assets were $4.0 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $831.3 million, or 26.3%, compared to $3.2 billion at December 31, 2020. The increase in interest-earning assets was primarily due to net HFI loan growth of $224.6 million and investment securities growth of $156.5 million, partially offset by a decrease of $44.0 million in mortgage loans available for sale.

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At December 31, 2021, available for sale (“AFS”) investment securities totaled $368.3 million inclusive of a pre-tax net unrealized loss of $2.4 million, compared to $210.9 million inclusive of a pre-tax net unrealized gain of $1.6 million at December 31, 2020. At December 31, 2021, held to maturity (“HTM”) investment securities totaled $6.3 million, compared to $7.2 million as of December 31, 2020.

Net loans and leases (held for investment, net of deferred fees, discounts, and the allowance for loan losses) were $2.9 billion at December 31, 2021, compared to $2.7 billion at December 31, 2020. Net loans and leases increased $221.0 million, or 8.3%, from December 31, 2020. The increase in net loans was due to organic growth. The increase in net loans included approximately $244.4 million in CRE loans, $116.4 million in construction loans and $26.7 million in other loans, partially offset by a $119.8 million decrease in SFR mortgage loans, $21.4 million in C&I loans and $21.7 million in SBA loans.

Total deposits were $3.4 billion at December 31, 2021, an increase of $750.4 million, or 28.5%, compared to $2.6 billion at December 31, 2020. The increase is due to an increase of $870.8 million in non-maturity deposits, partially offset by a net decrease of $120.4 million from time deposits, and the remainder from organic growth.

Noninterest-bearing deposits were $1.3 billion at December 31, 2021, an increase of $674.3 million, or 109.2%, from $617.2 million at December 31, 2020. At December 31, 2021, noninterest-bearing deposits were 38.1% of total deposits, compared to 23.4% at December 31, 2020.

Our average cost of total deposits was 0.40% for the year 2021, compared to 1.01% for 2020. The decrease is due to a 73 basis point decrease in the average rate paid on interest bearing deposits. Borrowings, consisting of FHLB long-term advances, long-term debt and subordinated debt, increased $68.8 million to $337.5 million as of December 31, 2021 compared to $268.7 million as of December 31, 2020. The Company had no short-term FHLB advances, and $150.0 million in long-term advances at December 31, 2021 and at December 31, 2020.

The allowance for loan losses was $32.9 million at December 31, 2021, an increase of $3.6 million or 12.2%, from $29.3 million at December 31, 2020. During 2021, there was a $4.0 million provision for loan losses compared to $11.8 million for 2020. The ALLL to HFI loans and leases outstanding was 1.12% and 1.08% as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

Shareholders’ equity increased $38.2 million, or 8.9%, to $466.7 million as of December 31, 2021 from $428.5 million at December 31, 2020. The increase during 2021 was primarily due to $56.9 million of net income, less $9.9 million of common dividends paid and $10.5 million from the repurchase of common stock.

Our capital ratios under the Basel III capital framework regulatory standards remain well capitalized. As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s Tier 1 leverage capital ratio was 10.21%, common equity Tier 1 ratio was 14.86%, Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio totaled 15.40%, and total risk-based capital ratio was 23.15%.

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ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Financial Performance

(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

Share Data

Earnings per common share:

Performance Ratios

Results of Operations—Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2020

Net Interest Income/Average Balance Sheet

In 2021, we generated fully-taxable equivalent net interest income of $124.4 million, an increase of $19.6 million, or 18.7%, from the net interest income produced in 2020. This increase was largely due to a 20.7% increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets, in part due to organic loan growth, partially offset by an 6 basis point decrease in the net interest margin. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 our reported net interest margin was 3.46% and 3.52%, respectively. Our net interest margin benefits from discount accretion on our purchased loan portfolios.

Interest Income. Total fully-taxable equivalent interest income was $147.1 million in 2021 compared to $139.2 million in 2020. The $8.0 million, or 5.7%, increase in total interest income was mainly due to increases in the average balance of total loans of $180.9 million, average balance of securities of $144.1 million, and average balance of Federal funds sold, cash equivalents and other investments of $292.2 million. This was partially offset by a decrease in the average total loan yield of 6 basis points.

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Interest and fees on loans was $141.6 million in 2021 compared to $133.9 million in 2020. The $7.7 million, or 5.7%, increase in interest income on loans was primarily due to a $180.9 million increase in the average balance of total loans outstanding, partially offset by 6 basis point decrease in the average yield on total loans. The increase in the average balance of loans outstanding was primarily due to organic growth in commercial real estate and single-family residential mortgage loans during 2021. The yield on the loan portfolio benefited from accretion income associated with purchase accounting discounts established on loans acquired in prior acquisitions. For the years 2021 and 2020, the reported yield on total loans was 5.12% and 5.18%, respectively. The impact of accretion income on our yield on total loans for the years 2021 and 2020 was to increase our reported yield on total loans by 0.03% and 0.08%, respectively. A substantial portion of our acquired loan portfolio that is subject to discount accretion consists of commercial real estate loans and single family residential mortgages.

The table below illustrates by loan type the accretion income for the years 2021, 2020 and 2019:

Beginning balance of discount on purchased loans $ 2,872 $ 5,068 $ 9,228

Additions due to acquisitions:

Commercial and industrial — 39 —

Construction and land development — — —

Commercial real estate — 397 —

Single family residential mortgages — 449 —

Total additions $ — $ 885 $ —

Accretion:

Commercial and industrial (9 ) — 15

Construction and land development — 5 —

Ending balance of discount on purchased loans $ 1,726 $ 2,872 $ 5,068

Interest income from our securities portfolio increased $454,000, or 15.1%, to $3.5 million in 2021. The increase in interest income on securities was primarily due to an increased average balance of $144.1 million, or 78.8%, partially offset by a 58 basis point decrease in the average yield of securities.

Interest income on our federal funds sold, cash equivalents and other investments decreased $143,000, or 6.3%, to $2.1 million in 2021. The decrease in interest income on these earning assets was primarily due to a 64 basis point decrease in average yield of cash equivalents, partially offset by a $292.2 million increase in the average balance. The increase in the average balance resulted from pending utilization of these funds to higher yielding loans and securities.

Interest Expense. Interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities decreased $11.6 million, or 33.9%, to $22.7 million in 2021 primarily due to a 63 basis point decrease in the average rate on these liabilities plus an increase in average non-interest bearing deposits of $374.6 million, partially offset by a $216.5 million increase in the average balance of interest bearing liabilities.

Interest expense on total deposits decreased to $12.0 million in 2021. The $13.2 million, or 52.6%, decrease in interest expense on total deposits was primarily due to a 73 basis point decrease in the average rate paid on total average interest bearing deposits, partially offset by a $141.9 million increase in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits. The increase in the average balance of deposits resulted primarily from organic growth in 2021.

Interest expense on borrowings increased 17.5% from $9.2 million in 2020 to $10.8 million in 2021. This increase reflected increased average balances in long term debt. In 2021, the average rate on these liabilities was 3.34% compared to 3.70% in 2020.

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Average Balance Sheet, Interest and Yield/Rate Analysis

The principal component of our earnings is net interest income, which is the difference between the interest and fees earned on loans and investments (interest-earning assets) and the interest paid on deposits and borrowed funds (interest-bearing liabilities). Net interest margin is net interest income as a percentage of average interest-earning assets for the period. The level of interest rates and the volume and mix of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities impact net interest income and net interest margin. The net interest spread is the yield on average interest earning assets minus the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities. Net interest margin and net interest spread are included on a tax equivalent (“TE”) basis by adjusting interest income utilizing the federal statutory tax rate of 21% for 2021, 2020 and 2019. Our net interest income, interest spread, and net interest margin are sensitive to general business and economic conditions. These conditions include short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, monetary supply, and the strength of the international, national and state economies, in general, and more specifically, the local economies in which we conduct business. Our ability to manage net interest income during changing interest rate environments will have a significant impact on our overall performance. We manage net interest income through affecting changes in the mix of interest-earning assets as well as the mix of interest-bearing liabilities, changes in the level of interest-bearing liabilities in proportion to interest-earning assets, and in the growth and maturity of earning assets. See “Analysis of Financial Condition—Capital Resources and Liquidity Management” and Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk included herein.

The following tables present average balance sheet information, interest income, interest expense and the corresponding average yields earned and rates paid for the years 2021, 2020 and 2019. The average balances are principally daily averages and, for loans, include both performing and nonperforming balances. Interest income on loans includes the effects of discount accretion and net deferred loan origination costs accounted for as yield adjustments.

Years Ended December 31,

thousands) Balance & Fees Rate Balance & Fees Rate Balance & Fees Rate

Interest-earning assets:

Securities: (2)

Loans held for investment: (3)

Interest-bearing liabilities:

Noninterest-bearing liabilities

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Interest Rates and Operating Interest Differential

Increases and decreases in interest income and interest expense result from changes in average balances (volume) of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, as well as changes in average interest rates. The following tables show the effect that these factors had on the interest earned on our interest-earning assets and the interest incurred on our interest-bearing liabilities. The effect of changes in volume is determined by multiplying the change in volume by the previous period’s average rate. Similarly, the effect of rate changes is calculated by multiplying the change in average rate by the previous period’s volume. Changes which are not due solely to volume or rate have been allocated to these categories based on the respective percent changes in average volume and average rate as they compare to each other.

Change due to: Change due to:

Interest-earning assets:

Securities: (2)

Loans held for investment: (3)

Interest-bearing liabilities

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Provision for Loan Losses

The provision for loan losses in 2021 was $4.0 million compared to $11.8 million in 2020. The decrease in the 2021 provision expense was primarily attributable to a decrease in COVID-19 pandemic related market effects from 2020, partially offset by increases in past due loans, substandard loans and impaired loans. Non-performing loans that increased during the year were individually analyzed, with $30,000 in 2021 and $525,000 in 2020, net addition to the allowance for loan losses.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income increased $4.7 million, or 33.5%, to $18.7 million in 2021 from $14.0 million in 2020. The following table sets forth the major components of noninterest income for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019:

Noninterest income:

Gain on sale of fixed assets — — 6 — — (6 ) (100.0 )%

Service charges, fees and others. The increase in noninterest income from service charges, fees and other income was primarily from service charges on the additional transactional deposit accounts originated organically.

Gain on sale of loans. The gain on sales of loans increased $4.0 million due primarily to the increase in gains of $2.7 million in SFR mortgage loans sold and increase in gains of $1.3 million in SBA loans sold. Increases in gain on sales of loans were due to increases of $7.2 million on SBA loans sold and $92.4 million on mortgage loans held for sale. The increase in the mortgage loan sales is attributable to the favorable change in market conditions in the secondary market.

Loans sold:

Gain on loans sold:

Commercial real estate — — 152 — — (152 ) (100.0 )%

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Loan servicing income, net of amortization. Servicing income decreased due to increased loan pre-payments in the SFR loans serviced causing a decrease in the volume of mortgage loans we are servicing. SBA loan servicing income decreased due to a decline in SBA pre-payments.

Loan servicing income, net of amortization:

As of year-end, dollars in thousands

Recoveries on loans acquired in business combinations. Recoveries on loans acquired in business combinations decreased by $2,000 to $82,000 in 2021 compared to $84,000 in 2020.

Gain on derivatives. Due to the amount of loans that were committed to be delivered to FNMA at year-end, we recorded derivatives which resulted in a gain of $46,000 in 2021 and $78,000 in 2020. In 2021 and 2020, the income from interest rate lock commitments ("IRLCs") was ($41,000) and $182,000, respectively, and was recorded as service charges, fees and other. The income from forward mortgage loan sales commitments ("FMLSCs") was $46,000 and $78,000 in 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is reported in the income statement. There was no IRLC and FMLSC income in 2019.

Cash surrender value income of bank owned life insurance. Cash surrender value income of bank owned life insurance (“BOLI”) increased $300,000 due to additional BOLI investment of $19.9 million in June 2021.

Gain on sales of securities, net. Gain on sales of securities, net was $210,000 in 2020 from the sale of $11.7 million securities. There was no gain on sale of securities in 2021.

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Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense decreased $1.3 million, or 2.2%, to $58.2 million in 2021 from $59.5 million in 2020. The following table sets forth the major components of our noninterest expense for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019:

Noninterest expense:

Salaries and employee benefits. Salaries and employee benefits expense increased $256,000 due to normal salary increases. The number of full-time equivalent employees were 365 at December, 31, 2021, 366 at year-end 2020 and 355 at year-end 2019. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, or governed by any collective bargaining agreements. We consider relations with our employees to be satisfactory. On a periodic basis, the human resources department will advise senior management of the following human capital management metrics: (1) open positions, (2) overtime expense, (3) staff turnover, and (4) employee headcount.

Occupancy and equipment. Occupancy and equipment expense decreased $1.0 million from 2020 to 2021 mainly due to the savings from branch closures in 2020 and in early 2021.

Data processing. Data processing expense increased $238,000 in 2021. This increase was primarily due to upgrading our infrastructure. Effective June 2019, the Company renegotiated its data processing master agreement with its vendor, under which the Company is allowed to offset future monthly data processing expenses up to approximately $2.2 million through January 2026. As of December 31, 2021, this offset benefit amounted to $1.2 million to be recognized through January 2026.

Legal and professional. Legal and professional expense increased $1.0 million in 2021 due to increases in internal control audits, professional expense associated with emerging growth company status and problem loan collections.

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Office expenses. Office expenses, comprised of communications, postage, armored car, and office supplies, decreased by $29,000 in 2021.

Marketing and business promotion. Marketing and business promotion expense increased $406,000, due to increased marketing efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Insurance and regulatory assessments. Insurance and regulatory assessments expense increased by $577,000 to $1.6 million in 2021 compared to $984,000 in 2020. The FDIC insurance assessment was $949,000 in 2021 and $455,000 in 2020, an increase of $494,000. The California DFPI regulatory assessment increased by $20,000 from $163,000 for the year 2020 to $183,000 for year 2021. The corporate insurance expenses (including directors and officers insurance and fidelity bond), was $435,000 for 2021 compared to $363,000 for 2020.

Amortization of intangibles. Amortization of intangibles totaled $1.1 million in 2021 as compared to $1.4 million for 2020. The decrease was due to continued amortization of the core deposit intangible asset, following the additional core deposit intangible asset of $491,000 recognized in connection with the 2020 PGBH acquisition.

OREO expenses. OREO expenses were $17,000 in 2021 and $35,000 in 2020. The $18,000 decrease was due to no further ongoing expenses for past OREOs.

Merger expenses. Merger expenses were $137,000 in 2021 compared to $746,000 in 2020. The 2021 expense includes expenses relating to the acquisition of the Hawaii branch. While the 2020 expenses relate to the PGBH acquisition.

Other noninterest expenses. Other expenses decreased by $1.9 million from 2020, primarily due to the provision (benefit) for credit losses associated with unfunded commitments as of the balance sheet date of ($180,000) in 2021 compared to $558,000 in 2020. The off-balance sheet liabilities are letters of credit and other commitments to lend. The provision for off-balance sheet liabilities is a function of the volume of undisbursed loans and other loan commitments multiplied by a risk factor. Other expense increases included a $416,000 decrease in mortgage servicing rights impairment due to reversal of write-downs reflecting the decline in market rates of interest.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense was $24.0 million in 2021 compared to $14.5 million in 2020, an increase of $9.5 million, or 65.4%. The effective tax rate for 2021 was 29.7% and 30.6% for 2020. Income tax expense for 2021 included a $873,000 benefit for stock options exercised and a $26,000 benefit for 2020.

Net Income

Net income increased $24.0 million to $56.9 million in 2021, compared to $32.9 million in 2020. The increase is primarily due to a increase in net interest income of $19.6 million, an increase in non-interest income of $4.7 million, a $1.3 million decrease in non-interest expense and a $7.9 million decrease in the credit loss provision, partially offset by a $9.5 million increase in tax expense.

Results of Operations—Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2019

Net Interest Income/Average Balance Sheet

In 2020, we generated fully-taxable equivalent net interest income of $104.8 million, an increase of $7.9 million, or 8.1%, from the net interest income produced in 2019. This increase was largely due to a 11.7% increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets, in part due to the PGBH acquisition and organic loan growth, partially offset by an 11 basis point decrease in the net interest margin. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 our reported net interest margin was 3.52% and 3.63%, respectively. Our net interest margin benefits from discount accretion on our purchased loan portfolios.

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Interest Income. Total interest income was $139.1 million in 2020 compared to $141.7 million in 2019. The $2.6 million, or 1.8%, decrease in total interest income was mainly due to a decrease in the average loan yield of 37 basis points. This was partially offset by increases in the average balance of total loans of $147.5 million, average balance of securities of $88.2 million, and average balance of Federal funds sold, cash equivalents and other investments of $77.5 million.

Interest and fees on loans was $133.9 million in 2020 compared to $135.2 million in 2019. The $1.3 million, or 0.94%, decrease in interest income on loans was primarily due to a 46 basis point decrease in the average yield on loans held for investment and 51 basis point decrease in the average yield on loans held for sale, partially offset by a $147.5 million increase in the average balance of held for investment and held for sale loans outstanding. The increase in the average balance of loans outstanding was primarily due to the PGBH acquisition in January 2020 plus organic growth in commercial real estate and single-family residential mortgage loans during 2020. The yield on the loan portfolio benefited from accretion income associated with purchase accounting discounts established on loans acquired in prior acquisitions. For the years 2020 and 2019, the reported yield on total loans was 5.19% and 5.65%, respectively. The impact of accretion income on our yield on total loans for the years 2020 and 2019 was to increase our reported yield on total loans by 0.08% and 0.11%, respectively. A substantial portion of our acquired loan portfolio that is subject to discount accretion consists of commercial real estate loans and single family residential mortgages.

Interest income from our securities portfolio increased $315,000, or 11.7%, to $3.0 million in 2020. The increase in interest income on securities was primarily due to an increased average balance of $88.2 million, or 93.1%, partially offset by a 120 basis point decrease in the average yield of securities.

Interest income on our federal funds sold, cash equivalents and other investments decreased $1.7 million, or 42.3%, to $2.3 million in 2020. The decrease in interest income on these earning assets was primarily due to by a 184 basis point decrease in average yield of cash equivalents, partially offset by a $77.5 million increase in the average balance. The increase in the average balance resulted from pending utilization of these funds to higher yielding loans and securities.

Interest Expense. Interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities decreased $10.5 million, or 23.4%, to $34.4 million in 2020 primarily due to a 67 basis point decrease in the average rate on these liabilities plus an increase in non-interest bearing deposits of $142.9 million, partially offset by a $188.2 million increase in the average balance of interest bearing liabilities.

Interest expense on total deposits decreased to $25.2 million in 2020. The $9.0 million, or 26.4%, decrease in interest expense on total deposits was primarily due to a 63 basis point decrease in the average rate paid on total interest bearing deposits, partially offset by a $168.5 million increase in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits. The increase in the average balance of deposits resulted primarily from the PGBH acquisition in early 2020 and organic growth in 2020.

Interest expense on borrowings decreased from $10.6 million in 2019 to $9.2 million or 13.8% in 2020. This decrease reflected decreased interest expense on subordinated notes, subordinated debentures, and other borrowed funds consisting of FHLB short-term and long-term advances. In 2020, the average rate on these liabilities was 3.70% compared to 4.66% in 2019. A five year FHLB advance was obtained in March 2020 to provide for additional liquidity.

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Provision for Loan Losses

The provision for loan losses in 2020 was $11.8 million compared to $2.4 million in 2019. The increase in the 2020 provision expense was primarily attributable to COVID-19 pandemic related market effects of $2.3 million, increases in the size of our overall loan portfolio, and increases in past due loans, substandard loans and impaired loans. Non-performing loans that increased during the year were individually analyzed, with $525,000 in 2020 and none in 2019, net addition to the allowance for loan losses.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income decreased $4.3 million, or 23.4%, to $14.0 million in 2020 from $18.3 million in 2019.

Service charges, fees and others. The increase in noninterest income from service charges, fees and other income was primarily from service charges on the additional transactional deposit accounts originated organically and acquired in the PGBH acquisition in 2020. In 2020, the income from interest rate lock commitments ("IRLCs") was $182,000 and was recorded as service charges, fees and other. The income from forward mortgage loan sales commitments ("FMLSCs") was $78,000 and is reported in the income statement as a gain on derivatives. There was no IRLC and FMLSC income in 2019.

Gain on sale of loans. The gain on sales of loans decreased $3.9 million due primarily to the decrease of $2.9 million in SFR mortgage loans sold and a $788,000 decrease in premiums received on SBA loans sold. Decreases in gain on sales of loans were due to decreases of $15.1 million on SBA loans sold and $288.3 million on mortgage loans held for sale. The decrease in the mortgage loan sales is attributable to the change in market conditions in the secondary market primarily caused by COVID-19.

Loan servicing income, net of amortization. Servicing income decreased due to increased loan pre-payments in the SFR loans serviced causing a decrease in the volume of mortgage loans we are servicing. SBA loan servicing income increased due to a decline in SBA pre-payments.

Recoveries on loans acquired in business combinations. Recoveries on loans acquired in business combinations decreased by $59,000 to $84,000 in 2020 compared to $143,000 in 2019.

Gain on derivatives. Due to the amount of loans that were committed to be delivered to FNMA at year-end, we recorded a derivative which resulted in a gain of $78,000 in 2020.

Cash surrender value income of bank owned life insurance. Cash surrender value income of BOLI decreased $8,000 due to slightly lower rates.

Gain on sales of securities, net. Gain on sales of securities, net was $210,000 in 2020 from the sale of $11.7 million securities.

Loss on Sale of OREO. In 2020, there were no sales of OREO. A $106,000 loss on sale of OREO was recognized in 2019 from the sale of two OREO properties.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense increased $2.0 million, or 3.5%, to $59.5 million in 2020 from $57.5 million in 2019.

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Salaries and employee benefits. Salaries and employee benefits expense increased $403,000 due to severance pay to terminated employees in connection with the PGBH merger. The number of full-time equivalent employees were 366 in 2020, 355 in 2019 and 365 in 2018. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, or governed by any collective bargaining agreements. We consider relations with our employees to be satisfactory. On a periodic basis, the human resources department will advise senior management of the following human capital management metrics: (1) open positions, (2) overtime expense, (3) staff turnover, and (4) employee headcount.

Occupancy and equipment. Occupancy and equipment expense decreased $59,000 from 2019 to 2020 mainly due to closing three branches in 2020, partially offset by the addition of three branches in Chicago (one leased and two owned) and opening one branch in Edison, New Jersey.

Data processing. Data processing expense increased $537,000 in 2020. This increase was primarily due to upgrading our infrastructure and also reflected the impact of increased processing costs incurred subsequent to the PGBH acquisition. Effective June 2019, the Company renegotiated its data processing master agreement with its vendor, under which the Company is allowed to offset future monthly data processing expenses up to approximately $2.2 million through January 2026. As of December 31, 2020, this offset benefit amounted to $1.6 million to be recognized through January 2026. Conversion expense associated with the PGBH and FAIC acquisitions is in the “other expenses” line item.

Legal and professional. Legal and professional expense increased $911,000 in 2020 due to increases in problem loan collection expenses, and commission expense recognized in connection with the purchase of a new branch location.

Office expenses. Office expenses comprised of communications, postage, armored car, and office supplies, decreased by $31,000 in 2020. The decrease was primarily due to cost saving implemented in 2020 (following the acquisition of PGBH in January).

Marketing and business promotion. Marketing and business promotion expense decreased $557,000. In 2020, marketing and promotion activity decreased due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Insurance and regulatory assessments. Insurance and regulatory assessments expense increased by $84,000 to $984,000 in 2020 compared to $900,000 in 2019, following the PGBH acquisition in 2020. The FDIC insurance assessment was $455,000 in 2020 and $386,000 in 2019, an increase of $69,000. The DFPI regulatory assessment increased by $14,000 from $149,000 for the year 2019 to $163,000 for year 2020. The corporate insurance expenses (including directors and officers insurance and fidelity bond), were $363,000 for 2020 compared to $360,000 for 2019.

Amortization of intangibles. Amortization of intangibles totaled $1.4 million in 2020 as compared to $1.5 million for 2019. The decrease was due to continued amortization of the core deposit intangible asset, following the additional core deposit intangible asset of $491,000 recognized in connection with the PGBH acquisition.

OREO expenses. OREO expenses were $35,000 in 2020 and $337,000 in 2019. The $302,000 decrease was due to payments made for delinquent property taxes and construction costs during the year ended 2019.

Merger expenses. Merger expenses were $746,000 in 2020 compared to $471,000 in 2019. The 2020 and 2019 expenses are for the PGBH acquisition which closed in January 2020.

Other noninterest expenses. Other expenses increased by $885,000 from 2019, primarily due to the provision for credit losses associated with unfunded commitments as of the balance sheet date of $558,000 in 2020 compared to $137,000 in 2019. The off-balance sheet liabilities are letters of credit and other commitments to lend. The provision for off-balance sheet liabilities is a function of the volume of undisbursed loans and other loan commitments multiplied by a risk factor. Other expense increases included a $416,000 increase in mortgage servicing rights impairment due to write-downs reflecting the decline in market rates of interest.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense was $14.5 million in 2020 compared to $16.1 million in 2019, a decrease of $1.6 million or 9.8%. The effective tax rate for 2020 was 30.6% and 29.2% for 2019. Income tax expense for 2020 included a $26,000 benefit for stock options exercised and a $78,000 benefit for 2019.

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Net Income

Net income decreased $6.3 million to $32.9 million in 2020, compared to $39.2 million in 2019. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in net interest income of $1.5 million, a decrease in non-interest income of $4.3 million, a $2.0 million increase in non-interest expense and a $9.4 million increase in the loan loss provision, partially offset by a $10.5 million decrease in interest expense.

ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

Assets

Total assets were $4.2 billion as of December 31, 2021 and $3.4 billion as of December 31, 2020. We increased our net loans held for investment by $221.0 million. This increase was from organic loan growth. Organic loan growth increased mainly in commercial real estate loans and construction loans. Our mortgage loans held for sale decreased by $44.0 million in 2021. The increase in assets was funded by an increase in deposits of $750.4 million, and a $38.2 million increase in equity (primarily resulting from $56.9 million in net income, less $10.5 million in repurchase of common stock and $9.9 million in dividends paid).

Investment Securities. We manage our securities portfolio and cash to maintain adequate liquidity and to ensure the safety and preservation of invested principal, with a secondary focus on yield and returns. Specific goals of our investment portfolio are as follows:

Our investment portfolio is comprised primarily of U.S. government agency securities, corporate note securities, mortgage-backed securities backed by government-sponsored entities and taxable and tax exempt municipal securities.

Our investment policy is reviewed annually by our board of directors. Overall investment goals are established by our board, CEO, CFO and members of our Asset Liability Committee (“ALCO”) of our board of directors. Our board of directors has delegated the responsibility of monitoring our investment activities to our ALCO. Day-to-day activities pertaining to the securities portfolio are conducted under the supervision of our CEO and CFO. We actively monitor our investments on an ongoing basis to identify any material changes in the securities. We also review our securities for potential other-than-temporary impairment at least quarterly.

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The following table sets forth the book value and percentage of each category of securities at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019. The book value for securities classified as available for sale is equal to fair market value and the book value for securities classified as held to maturity is equal to amortized cost.

(dollars in thousands) Amount % of Total Amount % of Total Amount % of Total

Securities, available for sale, at fair value

Securities, held to maturity, at amortized cost

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The tables below set forth investment securities AFS and HTM for the periods presented.

(dollars in thousands) Amortized Unrealized Unrealized Fair

December 31, 2021 Cost Gains Losses Value

Available for sale

Government agency securities $ 5,689 $ 4 $ (83 ) $ 5,610

Held to maturity

Municipal taxable securities $ 1,506 $ 77 $ — $ 1,583

Available for sale

Government agency securities $ 1,257 $ 37 $ — $ 1,294

Mortgage-backed securities- Government sponsored agencies 17,415 270 (8 ) 17,677

Held to maturity

The weighted-average yield on the total investment portfolio at December 31, 2021 was 1.03% with a weighted-average life of 3.8 years. This compares to a weighted-average yield of 1.14% at December 31, 2020 with a weighted-average life of 3.3 years. The weighted average life is the average number of years that each dollar of unpaid principal due remains outstanding. Average life is computed as the weighted-average time to the receipt of all future cash flows, using as the weights the dollar amounts of the principal pay-downs.

Approximately 17.1% of the securities in the total investment portfolio at December 31, 2021, are issued by the U.S. government or U.S. government-sponsored agencies and enterprises, which have the implied guarantee of payment of principal and interest. As of December 31, 2021, no U.S. government agency bonds are callable.

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The table below shows the Company’s investment securities’ amortized cost and fair value by maturity in the following maturity groupings as of December 31, 2021. The amortized cost and fair value of the investment securities portfolio are shown by expected maturity. Expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities if borrowers have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

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The tables below show the Company’s investment securities’ gross unrealized losses and fair value by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. The unrealized losses on these securities were primarily attributed to changes in interest rates. The issuers of these securities have not, to our knowledge, evidenced any cause for default on these securities. These securities have fluctuated in value since their purchase dates as market interest rates have fluctuated. However, we have the ability and the intention to hold these securities until their fair values recover to cost or maturity. As such, management does not deem these securities to be other-than-temporarily-impaired A summary of our analysis of these securities and the unrealized losses is described more fully in Note 4 — Investment Securities in the notes to the 2021 consolidated financial statements included in the Form 10-K. Economic trends may adversely affect the value of the portfolio of investment securities that we hold.

Less than Twelve Months Twelve Months or More Total

Government sponsored agencies $ (83 ) $ 4,860 1 $ — $ — — $ (83 ) $ 4,860 1

Corporate debt securities (6 ) 994 2 — — — (6 ) 994 2

The Company did not record any charges for other-than-temporary impairment losses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Loans

The loan portfolio is the largest category of our earning assets. At December 31, 2021, total loans held for investment, net of ALLL, totaled $2.9 billion.

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The following table presents the balance and associated percentage of each major category in our loan portfolio at December 31 for the past five years:

As of December 31,

(dollars in thousands) $ Mix % $ Mix % $ Mix % $ Mix % $ Mix %

Loans:(1)

(2) Net of discounts and deferred fees and costs

Net loans held for investment increased $221.0 million, or 8.3%, to $2.9 billion at December 31, 2021 as compared to $2.7 billion at December 31, 2020. The increase in net loans resulted from organic growth.

Commercial and industrial loans. We provide a mix of variable and fixed rate C&I loans. The loans are typically made to small- and medium-sized manufacturing, wholesale, retail and service businesses for working capital needs, business expansions and for international trade financing. C&I loans include lines of credit with a maturity of one year or less, C&I term loans with maturities of five years or less, shared national credits with maturities of five years or less, mortgage warehouse lines with a maturity of one year or less, bank subordinated debentures with a maturity of 10 years, purchased receivables with a maturity of two months or less and international trade discounts with a maturity of three months or less. Substantially all of our C&I loans are collateralized by business assets or by real estate.

We originate commercial and industrial lines of credit, term loans, mortgage warehouse lines and international trade discounts which totaled $268.7 million as of December 31, 2021 and $290.1 million at December 31, 2020. The interest rate on these loans are generally Wall Street Journal Prime rate based.

The loan to value and the rate on the underlying loans are based on the policy guidance of the Company.

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Our trade finance unit supplies financial needs to many of our core customers including trade financing needs for many of our commercial and industrial loan customers. The unit provides international letters of credit, SWIFT, export advice, trade finance discounts and foreign exchange. Our trade finance area has a correspondent relationship with many of the largest banks in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore. All of our international letters of credit, SWIFT, export advice and trade finance discounts are denominated in U.S. currency, and all foreign exchange is issued through a major bank that is also denominated in U.S. currency. As a result, we and our clients are not subject to foreign currency fluctuations, and, therefore, we do not have a need to engage in transactions designed to hedge against foreign currency fluctuations and risk.

Commercial and industrial loans decreased $21.4 million, or 7.4%, to $268.7 million as of December 31, 2021 compared to $290.1 million at December 31, 2020. This decrease resulted primarily from a $31.1 million decrease in mortgage warehouse lines, partially offset by a $15.4 million increase in commercial lines of credit.

Commercial real estate loans. CRE loans include owner-occupied and non-occupied commercial real estate, multi-family residential and SFR loans originated for a business purpose. Except for the multi-family residential loan portfolio, the interest rate for the majority of these loans are Prime based and have a maturity of five years or less except for the SFR loans originated for a business purpose which may have a maturity of one year. The interest rate for multi-family residential loans are based on the 5-year treasury, are 10 year maturity with a five year fixed rate period followed by a five year floating rate period, and have a declining prepayment penalty for the first five years. At December 31, 2021, approximately 14.7% of the CRE portfolio consisted of fixed-rate loans. Our policy maximum loan-to-value ("LTV") is 75% for CRE loans. The total CRE portfolio totaled $1.2 billion at December 31, 2021 and $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2020, of which $222.8 million and $198.8 million, respectively, are secured by owner occupied properties. The multi-family residential loan portfolio totaled $545.9 million as of December 31, 2021 and $346.6 million as of December 31, 2020. The SFR loan portfolio originated for a business purpose totaled $65.6 million as of December 31, 2021 and $24.0 million as of December 31, 2020.

Construction & land development loans. Our construction and land development loans are comprised of residential construction, commercial construction and land acquisition and development construction. Interest reserves are generally established on real estate construction loans. These loans are typically Prime based and have maturities of less than 18 months. Our LTV policy limits are 75% for construction and land development loans. C&D loans increased $116.4 million or 62.3%, to $303.1 million at December 31, 2021 as compared to $186.7 million at December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily due to increases in residential construction loans. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our real estate construction loan portfolio was divided among the foregoing categories as shown in the table below.

As of December 31, 2021 As of December 31, 2020 Increase (Decrease)

(dollars in thousands) $ Mix % $ Mix % $ %

SBA guaranteed loans. We are designated a Preferred Lender under the SBA Preferred Lender Program. We offer mostly SBA 7(a) variable-rate loans. We generally sell the 75% guaranteed portion of the SBA loans that we originate. Our SBA loans are typically made to small-sized manufacturing, wholesale, retail, hotel/motel and service businesses for working capital needs or business expansions. SBA loans can have any maturity up to 25 years. Typically, non-real estate secured loans mature in less than 10 years. Collateral may also include inventory, accounts receivable and equipment, and includes personal guarantees. Our unguaranteed SBA loans collateralized by real estate are monitored by collateral type and are included in our CRE Concentration Guidance.

We originate SBA loans through our branch staff, loan officers and through SBA brokers. In 2021, we originated $60.3 million in SBA loans, of which $22.5 million were PPP loans and $26.2 million were SBA 7A originations and $11.6 million were SBA 504 originations. Of SBA loan originations, $43.9 million or 72.8% were produced by branch staff and loan officers. The remaining $16.4 million or 27.2% was referred to us through SBA brokers.

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As of December 31, 2021 our SBA portfolio totaled $76.1 million of which $17.9 million is guaranteed by the SBA and $58.2 million is unguaranteed, of which $56.6 million is secured by real estate and $1.6 million is unsecured or secured by business assets. We monitor the unguaranteed portfolio by type of real estate collateral. As of December 31, 2021, $25.4 million or 43.6% is secured by hotel/motels; $5.0 million or 8.6% by gas stations; and $27.9 million or 47.9% in other real estate types. We further analyze the unguaranteed portfolio by location. As of December 31, 2021, $27.8 million or 47.8% is located in California; $6.0 million or 10.3% is located in Washington state; $5.1 million or 8.7% is located in Nevada; $5.0 million or 8.5% is located in Texas; $3.4 million or 5.8% is located in New York; and $11.0 million or 19.0% is located in other states.

SBA loans decreased $21.7 million, or 22.2%, to $76.1 million at December 31, 2021 compared to $97.8 million at December 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily due to SBA loan sales of $20.9 million, and $50.9 million in mainly PPP loan payments in 2021 less $22.5 million in PPP loan origination, and SBA 7A loans originations of $26.2 million.

SFR real estate loans. We originate qualified SFR mortgage loans and non-qualified, alternative documentation SFR mortgage loans through correspondent relationships or through our branch network or retail channel. The loan product is a five- or seven-year hybrid adjustable mortgage which re-prices between five or seven years to the one-year CMT plus 3.00%. The qualified SFR mortgage loans, 15-year and 30-year conforming mortgages, are originated by our branch network and are sold directly to FNMA within seven days of funding.

We originate these non-qualified SFR mortgage loans both to sell and hold for investment. The loans held for investment are generally originated through our retail branch network to our customers, many of whom establish a deposit relationships with us. During 2021, we originated $410.0 million of such loans through our retail channel, and $62.1 million through our wholesale and correspondent channel. We sell many of these non-qualified SFR mortgage loans to other Asian-American banks and private investors.

The loans sold to other banks are sold with no representation or warranties and with a replacement feature for the first 90-days if the loan pays off early. For SFR loans sold to FNMA and to investment funds we provide limited representations and warranties and with a repurchase and premium refund for loans that become delinquent in the first 90-days or a premium refund if paid-off in the first 90-days with respect to all loans sold. As a condition of the sale, the buyer must have the loans audited for underwriting and compliance standards.

During 2021, we originated $472.1 million of SFR mortgage loans and sold $276.7 million to FNMA, investment funds and other banks in our market. SFR real estate loans include home equity loans acquired in the LANB, FAIC and PGBH acquisitions. As of December 31, 2021, we had $3.9 million in home equity loans.

SFR real estate loans held for investment, which include $3.9 million of home equity loans, decreased $119.8 million, or 10.7%, to $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2021 as compared to $1.1 billion as of December 31, 2020. Loans held for sale decreased $44.0 million or 88.1% to $6.0 million as of December 31, 2021 compared to $50.0 million December 31, 2020. In addition, our SFR mortgage lending unit originates mortgage warehouse lines to our correspondents. These loans are included in our commercial and industrial lending unit and totaled $47.2 million as of December 31, 2021 and $78.3 million as of December 31, 2020.

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The loan maturities in the table below are based on contractual maturities as of December 31, 2021. As is customary in the banking industry, loans that meet underwriting criteria can be renewed by mutual agreement between us and the borrower. Because we are unable to estimate the extent to which our borrowers will renew their loans, the table is based on contractual maturities. As a result, the data shown below should not be viewed as an indication of future cash flows.

Construction & land development

Commercial & industrial

Commercial real estate

SBA

SFR mortgage

Other

Floating rate — — — — —

Allowance for loan losses (32,912 )

Mortgage loans held for sale $ 5,957

Loan Quality

We use what we believe is a comprehensive methodology to monitor credit quality and prudently manage credit concentration within our loan portfolio. Our underwriting policies and practices govern the risk profile and credit and geographic concentration for our loan portfolio. We also have what we believe to be a comprehensive methodology to monitor these credit quality standards, including a risk classification system that identifies potential problem loans based on risk characteristics by loan type as well as the early identification of deterioration at the individual loan level. In addition to our ALLL, our purchase discounts on acquired loans provide additional protections against credit losses.

Discounts on Purchased Loans. At acquisition we hire a third-party to determine the fair value of loans acquired. In many of the cases fair values were determined by estimating the cash flows expected to result from those loans and discounting them at appropriate market rates. The excess of expected cash flows above the fair value of the majority of loans will be accreted to interest income over the remaining lives of the loans in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 310-20.

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None of the loans we acquired after 2011 had evidence of deterioration of credit quality since origination for which it was probable, at acquisition, that the Company would be unable to collect all contractually required payments receivable. Loans acquired that had evidence of deterioration of credit quality since origination are referred to as PCI (purchase credit impaired) loans.

Analysis of the ALLL. The following table allocates the ALLL, or the allowance, by category:

(dollars in thousands) $% (1) $% (1) $% (1) $% (1) $% (1)

Loans:

Unallocated — — — — 101 — — — 420 —

The allowance and the balance of accretable credit discounts represent our estimate of probable and reasonably estimable credit losses inherent in loans held for investment as of the respective balance sheet date. The accretable credit discount balance was $3.3 million at December 31, 2021 and $4.8 million at December 31, 2020.

Allowance for loan losses. Our methodology for assessing the appropriateness of the ALLL includes a general allowance for performing loans, which are grouped based on similar characteristics, and a specific allowance for individual impaired loans or loans considered by management to be in a high-risk category. General allowances are established based on a number of factors, including historical loss rates, an assessment of portfolio trends and conditions, accrual status and economic conditions.

For C&I, SBA, CRE, C&D and SFR mortgage loans held for investment, a specific allowance may be assigned to individual loans based on an impairment analysis. Loans are considered impaired when it is probable that we will be unable to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement. The amount of impairment is based on an analysis of the most probable source of repayment, including the present value of the loan’s expected future cash flows, the estimated market value or the fair value of the underlying collateral. Interest income on impaired loans is accrued as earned, unless the loan is placed on nonaccrual status.

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Credit-discount on loans purchased through acquisition. Purchased loans are recorded at market value in two categories, credit discount and liquidity discount and premiums. The remaining credit discount at the end of a period is compared to the analysis for loan losses for each acquisition. If the credit discount is greater than the expected loss no additional provision is needed. The following table shows our credit discounts by loan portfolio for purchased loans only as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. We have recorded additional reserves of $1.6 million at December 31, 2021 and $2.1 million at December 31, 2020 due to the credit discounts on the bank acquisitions being less than the analysis for loan losses on those acquisitions as of December 31, 2021.

As of December 31, As of December 31,

Commercial and industrial $ 38 $ 53

Construction and land development 2 6

Single-family residential mortgages 2,619 3,653

Total credit discount on purchased loans $ 3,319 $ 4,777

Credit-discount to remaining balance of purchased loans 0.79 % 0.82 %

Individual loans considered to be uncollectible are charged off against the allowance. Factors used in determining the amount and timing of charge-offs on loans include consideration of the loan type, length of delinquency, sufficiency of collateral value, lien priority and the overall financial condition of the borrower. Collateral value is determined using updated appraisals and/or other market comparable information. Charge-offs are generally taken on loans once the impairment is determined to be other-than-temporary. Recoveries on loans previously charged off are added to the allowance. Net charge-offs to average loans were 0.01% and 0.05% for both the twelve months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively

The ALLL was $32.9 million at December 31, 2021 compared to $29.3 million at December 31, 2020. The $3.6 million increase in 2021 was primarily due to loan growth and a $1.2 million increase in non-performing loans. The COVID-19 portion of the ALLL equates to a 2.63 basis point reserve on the loan portfolio, excluding impaired and cash secured loans, at December 31, 2021.

We analyze the loan portfolio, including delinquencies, concentrations, and risk characteristics, at least quarterly in order to assess the overall level of the allowance and nonaccretable discounts. We also rely on internal and external loan review procedures to further assess individual loans and loan pools, and economic data for overall industry and geographic trends.

In determining the allowance and the related provision for loan losses, we consider three principal elements: (i) valuation allowances based upon probable losses identified during the review of impaired C&I, CRE, C&D loans, (ii) allocations, by loan classes, on loan portfolios based on historical loan loss experience and qualitative factors and (iii) review of the credit discounts in relationship to the valuation allowance calculated for purchased loans. Provisions for loan losses are charged to operations to record changes to the total allowance to a level deemed appropriate by us.

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The following table provides an analysis of the ALLL, provision for credit losses and net charge-offs for the years 2017 to 2021:

Years Ended December 31,

Charge-offs: —

Commercial and industrial (500 ) (200 ) — — —

Other (59 ) (45 ) — — —

Recoveries:

Commercial and industrial 1 — — 36 —

Commercial real estate 61 —

Other 86 — — — —

Problem Loans. Loans are considered delinquent when principal or interest payments are past due 30 days or more; delinquent loans may remain on accrual status between 30 days and 89 days past due. Loans on which the accrual of interest has been discontinued are designated as nonaccrual loans. Typically, the accrual of interest on loans is discontinued when principal or interest payments are past due 90 days or when, in the opinion of management, there is a reasonable doubt as to collectability in the normal course of business. When loans are placed on nonaccrual status, all interest previously accrued but not collected is reversed against current period interest income. Income on nonaccrual loans is subsequently recognized only to the extent that cash is received and the loan’s principal balance is deemed collectible. Loans are restored to accrual status when loans become well-secured and management believes full collectability of principal and interest is probable.