Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:WIBC), announced today its inclusion in the prestigious Sandler O'Neill and Partners Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars -- Class of 2006. Wilshire is one of only nine institutions to be selected by Sandler in each of the three years that they have named Sm-All Stars.

Sandler O'Neill, an investment banking firm headquartered in New York that specializes in financial institutions, evaluated a total of 573 publicly traded banks and thrifts with market capitalizations below $2 billion. Sandler O'Neill stated in its Class of 2006 report that it applied numerous screens focusing on growth, profitability, credit quality and capital strength before awarding "Sm-All Star" status to the 34 institutions that the firm believes to be the top performing, publicly traded small-cap banks and thrifts in the nation.

"It is an honor to be named among the finest community banks in the country, and remaining on that list since its inception is particularly gratifying," stated Soo Bong Min, President and CEO. "We will maintain the same commitment to exceptional banking that has helped us achieve superior returns for our shareholders. Sticking to the basics -- building a high-performing loan portfolio largely funded by core deposits -- should help us continue to grow earnings per share and shareholder wealth."

Wilshire Bancorp and its Wilshire State Bank subsidiary have received significant accolades for growth, performance and profitability. In addition to three consecutive years of recognition from Sandler O'Neill, Wilshire Bancorp was added to the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 index in late April. In January, US Banker magazine named Wilshire Bancorp third in its All-Star Lineup -- The Top 20 Banks of 2006, based on year-over-year return on equity. In September 2005, Fortune named Wilshire the 79th fastest-growing public company in the nation. A month earlier, US Banker ranked Wilshire 7th on its list of the Top 100 Publicly Traded Mid-Tier Banks, those with less than $10 billion in assets, based on their three-year ROE.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Wilshire State Bank operates 18 branch offices in California, Texas and New York and seven Loan Production Offices in San Jose, Seattle, Las Vegas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, and Annandale, Virginia, and is an SBA preferred lender nationwide. The Bank is a community bank with a focus on commercial real estate lending and general commercial banking, with its primary market encompassing the multi-ethnic populations of the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Wilshire Bancorp's strategic goals include increasing shareholder and franchise value by continuing to grow its multi-ethnic banking business and expanding its geographic reach to other similar markets with strong levels of small business activity.

www.wilshirebank.com

Statements concerning future performance, events, or any other guidance on future periods constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. Specific factors include, but are not limited to, loan production and sales, credit quality, the ability to expand net interest margin, the ability to continue to attract low-cost deposits, success of consolidation of operations and expansion efforts, competition in the marketplace and general economic conditions. The financial information contained in this release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in Wilshire Bancorp's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as they may be amended from time to time. Results of operations for the most recent quarter are not necessarily indicative of operating results for any future periods. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to management and is subject to change. Since management will only provide guidance at certain points during the year, Wilshire Bancorp will not necessarily update the information. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect financial results are included in filings by Wilshire Bancorp with the Securities and Exchange Commission.