Jimmy M. Bang
About Jimmy M. Bang
Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer (CLO) of Open Bank since March 2025; previously Senior Vice President and Lending Manager from August 2021. Age 53; 25+ years in banking with prior leadership roles at Nara Bank (now Bank of Hope), Countrywide Home Loans, and California Bank & Trust. Education: B.S. in Marketing & International Business (Penn State), Pacific Coast Banking School graduate, Executive Leadership Certificate (UW Foster). Company performance context: 2024 Net Income $21.1M, ROA 0.92%, ROE 10.68%, Efficiency Ratio 61.19; $100 initial TSR value 144 in 2024 (vs 98 in 2023, 87 in 2022) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| OP Bancorp / Open Bank | EVP & Chief Lending Officer | Appointed Mar 2025 | Lead lending strategy, portfolio growth, credit risk within CLO remit |
| OP Bancorp / Open Bank | SVP & Lending Manager | Aug 2021–Mar 2025 | Managed lending teams and production; groundwork for CLO transition |
| Nara Bank (now Bank of Hope) | Various leadership positions | — | Expanded lending operations; community-bank domain expertise |
| Countrywide Home Loans | Leadership position | — | Mortgage lending and underwriting experience |
| California Bank & Trust | Leadership position | — | Commercial lending and credit administration exposure |
External Roles
No external directorships or outside board roles disclosed .
Fixed Compensation
No individual salary/bonus disclosure for Bang (not a 2024 Named Executive Officer). Company framework indicates: CEO eligible up to 100% of base salary bonus cap; other executive officers eligible up to 35% of base salary under the Management Incentive Plan (MIP) . Insider Trading Policy imposes quarterly blackout windows and requires pre-clearance for trades by executive officers .
Performance Compensation
Company MIP design and 2024 metrics used for executive officers; Bang’s specific payouts are not disclosed.
| Metric | Weighting (Other Execs) | 2024 Target | 2024 Actual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROA | 60% Bank Goals / 40% Individual Goals | 1.01% | 0.92% | Bank goals are ROA, ROE, Efficiency; weighting 60/40 for non-CEO execs |
| ROE | 60% Bank Goals / 40% Individual Goals | 11.30% | 10.68% | Applied across executive team MIP |
| Efficiency Ratio | 60% Bank Goals / 40% Individual Goals | 57.35% | 61.19% | Higher efficiency ratio reduced payouts vs target |
2023 benchmarks for context: ROA 1.13% (target 1.17%), ROE 13.05% (target 13.52%), Efficiency Ratio 57.59% (target 56.64%). CEO received 97% of base; other execs 34% of base in 2023, illustrating linkage to metrics .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: Bang not individually listed in 2025 beneficial ownership table (names shown do not include him), so shares owned and % outstanding not disclosed .
- Equity plan: 2021 Equity Incentive Plan authorizes 1,500,000 shares; 250,088 RSUs outstanding at $11.78 avg issue price; 1,078,188 shares remain available. Company granted no stock options under the plan (reduces leverage/overhang risk) .
- Typical vesting (illustrative from NEOs): 3-year (1/3 per year) and 5-year (1/5 per year) RSU schedules used (Ms. Oh and Mr. Oh awards) .
- Pledging/hedging: Prohibited for directors, officers, employees; margin accounts and publicly-traded options are prohibited; 10b5-1 plans require prior approval and waiting periods (alignment, reduced forced selling risk). Quarterly blackout and event-specific trading restrictions apply .
Employment Terms
- Appointment: Bang appointed EVP & CLO in March 2025; prior SVP/Lending Manager since August 2021 .
- Employment agreement: Not disclosed for Bang. CEO and CFO agreements/plan terms disclosed separately; an Executive Change-in-Control Severance Plan exists, with participation selected by HRCC (CFO example: 150% base salary + 12 months COBRA upon qualifying termination near change-in-control). Bang’s participation is not disclosed .
- Clawback: Company has a Dodd-Frank/Nasdaq-compliant clawback policy covering cash and equity incentive compensation for restatements due to material noncompliance (faultless recoupment) .
- Insider Trading Policy: Pre-clearance, blackout windows, and restrictions on hedging/pledging reduce short-termism and misalignment risks .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- HRCC is fully independent; meets six times annually; reviews CEO evaluation, compensation strategy, incentive plan eligibility, goals, equity plan administration, and succession planning .
- MIP emphasizes profitability/efficiency (ROA, ROE, efficiency ratio) with bank/individual goal weightings (70/30 CEO; 60/40 other execs), incentivizing balanced performance and operational discipline .
Performance & Track Record (Company Context)
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Income ($000s) | 33,310 | 23,918 | 21,069 |
| ROA | 1.74% | 1.13% | 0.92% |
| ROE | 19.57% | 13.05% | 10.68% |
| Efficiency Ratio | 47.42% | 57.59% | 61.19% |
| $100 TSR Value | 87 | 98 | 144 |
Notes: TSR improved materially in 2024 despite lower net income and efficiency deterioration; incentive payouts for execs have reflected under/over-performance vs targets in prior years .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Pledging/hedging prohibited, reducing alignment risk concerns .
- RSU-only equity grants (no options) reduce repricing/underwater option risks .
- Related party transactions: governed by Audit Committee policy; no material related party transactions beyond ordinary banking relationships reported .
- Section 16(a) filings: Company disclosed a few director filing delays in 2024; no mention of Bang’s filings in that list .
Compensation Peer Group & Say-on-Pay
- Advisory say-on-pay proposal presented annually; 2025 proxy recommends “ONE YEAR” frequency, but specific vote outcomes are not provided in the document .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Core credentials: Consumer and commercial lending leadership; credit culture experience; formal banking education (Pacific Coast Banking School); executive leadership training (UW Foster); community-bank franchise experience .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Executive trading restrictions, anti-pledging/hedging, clawback, and RSU-based equity reduce misalignment and insider selling pressure risks (positive governance signal) .
- Performance linkage: MIP metrics (ROA, ROE, efficiency) directly tie cash incentive outcomes to profitability and cost discipline; with 2024 shortfalls, expect moderated payouts for non-CEO execs, reinforcing pay-for-performance culture .
- Data gaps: No individual compensation, ownership, or vesting disclosures for Bang limit precision in pay-for-performance and skin-in-the-game analysis; monitor future proxies and any Form 4 filings for grants/holdings updates .
- Execution risk: Lending growth and portfolio quality oversight under Bang’s CLO tenure should be assessed against OPBK’s CRE concentration and efficiency trends; company’s risk management framework and committee oversight are established but operating metrics softened in 2024 (watch efficiency improvement trajectory) .