BBCN Bank on Thursday announced that Chief Executive Soo Bong Min had retired.

Before joining BBCN last April, Min, 77, had been chief executive of Hanmi Financial and later Wilshire Bancorp. At BBCN, he also held the title of president.

Kevin Kim, chief executive of holding company BBCN Bancorp, said he would serve as chief executive of both until a new bank CEO was hired.

Kim was a key negotiator in the creation of BBCN from the merger of Center Financial and Nara Bancorp in 2011. He had been a director of Center Financial from 2008 until the merger, which created the nation’s largest Korean-American bank.

“We congratulate Min on his well-earned retirement after a distinguished 50-plus year career in the financial services industry,” Kim said in a statement.

Shares closed down 25 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.83 on the Nasdaq.