Center Financial Appoints Lisa Pai EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary.

LOS ANGELES -- Center Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CLFC) today announced the appointment of Lisa Kim Pai as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Pai, 47, brings more than 15 years of experience in the legal profession, primarily serving as general counsel and corporate secretary for leading financial institutions focused on the Korean-American community in the greater Los Angeles area. From 1994 to 2004, Pai was senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Pacific Union Bank, where she assisted in the bank's termination of a BSA-related C&D Order, oversaw the company's initial public offering and managed the due diligence process for the acquisition by Hanmi Financial Corp. After the acquisition, Pai joined the Hanmi management team in the same capacity and successfully directed the post-merger integration of the legal staff and functions. Most recently, she represented Nara Bancorp as acting general counsel and corporate secretary from June 2005 to October 2006. Pai is a member of the California State Bar and serves on the advisory boards of the Asian Pacific Alumni Association of University of California, Los Angeles and the Korean American Bar Association, where she previously was president. From 2001 to 2003, she served on the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Pai earned her J.D. from University of California, UCLA School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Chicago.

"I am very pleased to welcome Lisa to the Center Financial team and look forward to working with her again," said Jae Whan (J.W.) Yoo, president and chief executive officer. "She joins our company at a critical time as we set the stage for our next phase of growth, and I am more than confident that her expertise and counsel will be a valuable asset to our organization."

About Center Financial Corporation

Center Financial Corporation is the holding company of Center Bank, a community bank offering a full range of financial services for diverse ethnic and small business customers. Founded in 1986 and specializing in commercial and SBA loans and trade finance products, Center Bank has grown to be one of the nation's largest financial institutions focusing on the Korean-American community, with total assets of $1.84 billion at December 31, 2006. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Center Bank operates 26 branch and loan production offices across the nation. Of the company's 17 full-service branches, 15 are located throughout Southern California, along with one branch each in Chicago and Seattle. Center Bank's nine loan production offices are strategically located in Phoenix, Seattle, Denver, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Atlanta, Honolulu, Houston and Dallas. Center Bank is a California state-chartered institution and its deposits are insured by the FDIC to the extent provided by law. For additional information on Center Bank, visit the company's Web site at www.centerbank.com.