Ahmad Hasan's questions to Hanmi Financial Corp (HAFC) leadership • Q1 2025
Question
Ahmad Hasan of D.A. Davidson & Co. inquired about the health of the loan pipeline, the potential impact of tariffs on clients, guidance for expense modeling, and the likelihood of increased share repurchases given the stock's valuation.
Answer
Chief Banking Officer Anthony Kim described the Q2 loan pipeline as healthy but noted that loan demand could soften later in the year due to economic uncertainty. He added that US KC customers are well-prepared for potential tariffs. CFO Romolo Santarosa projected a 3-4% increase in salaries and benefits for Q2 due to annual merits, with other expenses tracking inflation. Regarding capital, Santarosa stated that the board reviews repurchases quarterly and that recent activity levels are a reasonable, though not guaranteed, expectation.