Wilshire Bancorp Inc. said Tuesday that its first quarter net income fell 39 percent as the Los Angeles bank holding company set aside more money to handle an increase in non-performing loans.

The parent of Wilshire State Bank reported net income of $3.1 million (7 cents per share) compared with net income of $5.1 million (17 cents) a year ago. Total deposits increased at an annualized rate of 20 percent to $1.9 billion. Net interest income of $19.7 million was essentially unchanged from the same quarter a year ago and noninterest income fell 27 percent to $3.7 million.

Total loans increased 10 percent to $2.07 billion, with commercial real estate loans comprising 81 percent of the portfolio. Nonperforming loans as of March 31 increased to $29.7 million, or 1.43 percent of gross loans. The two largest nonperforming loans were $8.4 million secured by land in Las Vegas, and $4.3 million secured by land in Malibu.

Wilshire during the quarter increased its allowance for loan losses to $34.2 million or 1.65 percent of gross loans. In the current quarter, the bank said it already had made provisions for loan losses of $6.7 million.

“As the credit environment further deteriorates and the financial crisis continues to unfold, we expect that 2009 will be a challenging year,” Chief Executive Joanne Kim said in a statement.

Wilshire Bancorp shares were down 14 cents, or 3 percent, to $4.45 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.