NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Friday approved the application by First Hope Bancorp to become a bank holding company through the acquisition of First Hope Bank, a national banking association, both of Hope, New Jersey, pursuant to Section 3(a)(1) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended. According to standard procedure, the proposal cannot be completed for 15 days. The Reserve Bank acted under authority delegated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.