The parent of Hanmi Bank late Wednesday said that it had terminated an agreement that would have enabled South Korea’s Woori Finance Holdings Co. Ltd. to take a majority stake in the Koreatown bank.

Woori in May 2010 agreed to purchase up to $240 million of Hanmi’s stock, but the agreement had to be approved by both U.S. and Korean banking regulators, which has yet to take place. Officials at Hanmi Financial Corp. said that both companies decided that after more than a year’s wait it made sense to restructure their relationship into a “business alliance” and move on.

Woori Finance’s Woori America Bank has a modest presence on the West Coast, but is better known in New York and the East Coast. A relationship with Hamni was seen as desirable because of its ties to Los Angeles County’s huge community of Korean-Americans and Korean expatriates.

The companies plan to establish an alliance that will enable customers of both institutions to more easily do business in the other’s country, including international remittances, international trade finance and services to each other’s VIP customers.

“We are quite pleased that we will be able to engage in a collaborative relationship with Woori,” said Hanmi Chief Executive J.S. Yoo in a statement. “The business alliance between Hanmi and Woori, which is one of Korea’s largest financial institutions, should benefit both parties … It should also help us to build value for our shareholders through access to Woori’s substantial resources.”

The Woori investment would have been a significant financial shot in the arm for Hanmi, which last year came under regulatory pressure to increase its capital levels following real estate loan losses during the recession. The bank last June raised more than $120 million from existing and new shareholders in two private placements that enabled it to return to “well capitalized” status.

Hanmi shares closed down 4 cents, or 3.7 percent, to 99 cents on the Nasdaq prior to the announcement.