A group of investors plans to start a new Hawai'i bank that will cater to the growing Korean-American community.

Ohana Pacific Bank said it plans to open a single branch at the former American Savings Bank office on Kapi'olani Boulevard near Ala Moana Center as early as next year, according to a filing with the state Division of Financial Institutions.

The application comes less than two months after regulators approved the startup of Pacific Rim Bank, which is the state's first new bank in 16 years.

"With the improving economy of Hawai'i and the recent consolidation in the state's banking industry, there's a large demand for a small community service bank," said Woon Hyun, Ohana Pacific's president and chief executive.

Ohana Pacific, which also filed an application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., plans to raise as much as $12 million in capital and will employ about 15 people, said Hyun, who previously served as president and chief executive of Pacific Union Bank in Los Angeles.

In addition to Hyun, the new bank's 11-member board of directors will include former Pacific Union Bank chairman Allan Dalshaug, longtime City Bank executive Wayne Miyao, local accountant Michael Tanaka, attorney Rex Kim and veteran Hawai'i insurance executive Hyung Kwon Cha.

Other board members include local real-estate agent Nicole Choi, real-estate executive David Jung, local entrepreneur Donald Kang, University of Hawai'i finance professor Sangghon Rhee and Woon Ik Chung, former coach of the South Korean women's ice hockey team.

The new company will provide traditional retail banking services such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money-market accounts, certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.

While the bank will be open to all customers, Hyun said, it will target the Korean community, which it believes has been underserved by Hawai'i's banking industry.

In its filings, Ohana Pacific said that there are about 36,000 people of Korean ancestry in Hawai'i with a potential deposit base of about $659 million. The company projected that it could attract about 14 percent of that market, or about $91 million, by its third year of operation.

Ohana Pacific's application comes less than two months after state regulators granted Pacific Rim Bank preliminary approval to operate in Hawai'i. Pacific Rim, headed by former City Bank executive Austin Imamura, is in the process of building its Waterfront Plaza office, said Nick Griffin, commissioner of the state Division of Financial Institutions.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.