Hanmi Bank President and CEO Bonnie Lee has been named The Most Powerful Women to Watch 2023.
On September 27, American Banker, a leading financial journal, named Bonnie Lee as one of 25 powerful women to watch in 2023. She is the only Korean American on the list.
The media recognized Lee, who became the first female CEO of Hanmi Bank in 2019, for growing the bank’s deposit volume and strengthening its financial metrics over the past four years.
The American Banker said, “After the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in March, Hanmi has taken what Lee called a ‘selective and disciplined approach to lending,’ focused on borrowers with long term deposit relationships at the bank.”
Among her accomplishments, American Banker noted, “In the past year, Lee has focused on the bank’s Korean companies initiative, which aims at capturing market share from the growing contingent of U.S.-based subsidiaries of large Korean manufacturers and conglomerates. Hanmi initially targeted auto-parts companies that support the Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia.” This effort led to 23% increase in loan volume.
The loan growth was accompanied by an increase in assets. It grew from $6.9 billion in 2021 to $7.4 billion in 2022, a jump of $500 million in a single year. The bank’s focus on local communities and small businesses was also part of the media’s positive assessment.
“My prior experiences provided me a front-row seat to the needs of small businesses — especially the many challenges faced by multi-ethnic small-business owners,” Lee said. “The experience shaped the way I see the role of community banks in supporting both the local and broader economy.”
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
