Southwestern National Bank, George Lee as Chief Executive Officer & Mohammed Younus as President!

HOUSTON: The Board of Directors of Southwestern National Bank, a bank subsidiary of SWNB Bancorp, Inc., today announced that Mr. George Lee as Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Mohammed Younus as President effective September 10, 2018.  Lee also will serve as the President and CEO of the Bank’s holding company.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are pleased to have Mr. Lee as the new CEO of Southwestern National Bank,” stated Chairman C.K. Lee.  “He brings an array of skills and experience that will be a vital asset to the overall growth and success of our bank.  We look forward to seeing him play a major role not only in the bank, but in the community as well.”

Prior to his vast business executive experience at mainstream U.S. companies, Mr. Lee served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of MetroCorp Bancshares Inc. Since July 26, 2004 and has been its Co-chairman since February 2013. He served as a Senior Advisor of East West Bancorp, Inc. since January 2014.  Mr. Lee holds a Bachelors of Science in Econometrics from the University of Wisconsin and MBA in Finance from University of Minnesota.

“I have always respected and admired SWNB over the years as a fellow banker…stable and well operated under its board and management team…I was honored when I was invited to join the team,” said Mr. Lee.  “Given the fact that I have been very familiar with the community and the common base of clients I could sense that the opportunity for growth for SWNB is immense.  As Metro Bank was about 4x the size of SWNB in terms of assets, we believe that with the solid organization base already in place, with some tweaking and additions our upside opportunity is optimistic.”  Mr. Lee added, “In addition to that, during the past four years my understanding and network with the main stream market has also expanded.  Over time, we will develop strategies to take advantage of some segments of the market.  In short, without elaborating anymore, I am excited!”

Chairman C.K. Lee continued, “Today, we are also pleased to announce that Mr. Younus has been appointed the President of Southwestern National Bank.  “Mr. Younus has been a valuable asset to Southwestern National Bank.  He will take on the added role of leading the Bank and work closely with Mr. Lee to make SWNB one of the best banks in Texas.”

Mr. Younus has been in banking for 32 years of which about 25 years in the U.S.  Prior to joining the SWNB team, he was with two other Asian banks.  He has held positions of Chief Lending officer, Vice Chairman of the board, CEO and Regional President.  Mr. Younus came to US at the age of 17 and earned his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.  In addition he used to hold positions with non-profit organizations serving the Asian communities. He was the Chair of DFW Asian American Chamber of Commerce 2008. He was also elected as President of Pakistan Society of North Texas in 2007. He is married and has two children and a beautiful granddaughter; son 29 and Daughter 22.

Chairman C.K. Lee addressed to the press, “As you are aware, on May 18, 2018, SWNB entered into a business combination transaction with Hanmi Financial Corporation which contemplated SWNB merging with and into Hanmi if certain conditions set forth in the Agreement and Plan of Merger were met.  One of those conditions is the approval of the Transaction Agreement by SWNB stockholders. Because the proposal failed to receive the requisite affirmative votes for approval, the proposal was not approved.  As a result, the Merger with Hanmi will not take place, SWNB and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southwestern National Bank, will remain independent and each of you will remain as stockholders of SWNB.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Southwestern National Bank, a bank subsidiary of SWNB Bancorp, Inc. has been serving the Asian communities in Houston, Sugar Land, Austin, Plano, Richardson and Southern California since 1997.  Bank employees are fluent in many languages including Chinese, Taiwanese and Cantonese as well as English.  The Bank strives to say in touch with the local Asian community by participating in charity events and events that celebrate the cultural heritage of the area.  Southwestern National Bank also provides monthly seminars to the community, free of charge, on a variety of valuable information.

For information, contact Ling Chuang (713) 272-5045. 
(Member FDIC)