Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:WIBC), the holding company for Wilshire State Bank, today reported that the net interest margin expanded for the sixth consecutive quarter and loan growth remained strong, contributing to net income increasing 41% in the third quarter and 40% in the first nine months of 2005. For the quarter ended September 30, 2005, net income was a record $7.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, compared to $5.1 million, or $0.18 per share in the third quarter of last year. Year-to-date, net income was $20.0 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, up from $14.3 million, or $0.50 per share in the first nine months of 2004.

In August 2004, Wilshire Bancorp was formed as a holding company for Wilshire State Bank. All previous results reflect the operations of Wilshire State Bank, which are comparable to those of the holding company. All per share results reflect the one-for-one conversion of Wilshire State Bank stock into Wilshire Bancorp stock, and the two-for-one stock split that followed in December 2004.

Management will host its quarterly conference call today, October 25, at 10:30 am PDT (1:30 pm EDT). Investment professionals are invited to participate in the call by dialing 866-831-6272 using passcode 48897052. Current and prospective shareholders are invited to listen to the live or archived call on the Internet, at www.wilshirebank.com, or www.earnings.com.

"Our significant growth continues, with total loans up 22% and deposits up 24% since the end of September last year," stated Soo Bong Min, President and CEO. "We have opened two branches in Southern California, one in Dallas, and four business lending offices nationally since the beginning of the year, providing a platform for our balance sheet growth. In addition, I expect our acquisition of Liberty Bank of New York to close before year-end, adding two branches to our existing presence there. Despite investing in our infrastructure, we have continued to grow revenues and kept operating expenses in check, as is evidenced by the continued improvement in our already solid profitability ratios."

Wilshire's annualized return on average equity (ROE) improved to 27.4%, from 25.3% in the third quarter of 2004. Year-to-date, ROE was 27.0%, compared to 26.0% in the first nine months of 2004. Return on average assets (ROA) grew to 1.96% in the third quarter, from 1.67% a year ago, and for the nine-month period ROA was 1.92%, compared to 1.71% in the first three quarters of last year. The efficiency ratio improved to 39.0% in the third quarter of 2005, compared to 41.8% in the previous year, and was 39.8% year-to-date, versus 41.9% in the nine months ended September 30, 2004.

"Although our third quarter efficiency ratio was again below 40%, I don't believe it will improve much further in the near term as we fully absorb the operating costs associated with our new offices," stated Brian Cho, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "And while our net interest margin has improved for six consecutive quarters, it will be difficult to maintain that momentum should rates stop increasing or start to move back down. In the meantime, however, the lag between the repricing of loans and deposits has been extremely beneficial." Wilshire's net interest margin was 4.84% in the third quarter of 2005, compared to 4.61% in the preceding quarter and 3.97% a year ago. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2005, the margin improved to 4.67%, from 3.91% in the same period last year.

Total deposits have grown by 24% over the past year, to $1.30 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2005, compared to $1.05 billion at the end of September last year. "We remain focused on building core deposits to keep our funding costs down, and non-interest bearing deposits are up 22% in the past twelve months," Cho said. "In order to continue our growth in an extremely competitive environment, however, we are also utilizing time deposits and other borrowings to fund our new loans."

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