Central Pacific Financial Corp.'s stock, which has been hammered for much of the year, jumped 26 percent yesterday on heavy volume.

Shares in the parent company of Central Pacific Bank closed at $1.17 yesterday, up 24 cents from Friday's close. Nearly 3 million shares traded hands, compared with average daily volume of about 1.2 million for the last six months.

Asked for a possible reason for yesterday's surge, Central Pacific Bank's director of communications, Wayne Kirihara, only said, “;We hope that the market sees our stock as a good value.”;

Central Pacific's stock started 2009 just above $10 a share but has fallen as low as 81 cents on Nov. 30 amid news of staggering losses and anticipated government enforcement action.

Central Pacific's shares had been falling since the bank's October disclosure that it expected challenging economic conditions to persist and its commercial real estate portfolio to continue deteriorating.

The bank also recorded a third-quarter loss of $183.1 million.

The company, which is expecting a consent order from regulators, also has said that it will enter into a formal agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions that addresses asset quality, capital needs and liquidity.