First Hawaiian Bank
Encyclopedia
First Hawaiian Bank is a regional commercial bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
at the First Hawaiian Center
First Hawaiian Center
First Hawaiian Center is the tallest building in Hawaii.-Description:Located at 999 Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu near Bishop Park, the First Hawaiian Center is the world corporate headquarters of First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaii's oldest bank and multi-billion dollar company established by Charles...
. It is a subsidiary of BancWest Corporation, which itself is a subsidiary of the French banking company, BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
. Founded in 1858, First Hawaiian is the oldest and largest (by deposits) bank in the State of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and claims to be the second oldest bank west of the Rockies.
The bank currently operates 58 branches in Hawaii, three in Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and two in Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
. According to FDIC records, as of July 14, 2008, the bank's assets were $12,957,489,000. BancWest had more than 700 branches in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Guam and Saipan.
History
- August 17, 1858: Charles Reed BishopCharles Reed BishopCharles Reed Bishop was a businessman and philanthropist in Hawaii.Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there. Bishop was one of the first trustees of and a major donor to the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii...
and his partner, William A. Aldrich, opened Bishop & Co. This was the first successful banking partnership under the laws of the independent Kingdom of HawaiiKingdom of HawaiiThe Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. Important milestones in the company's history include: - 1890: King David KalākauaKalakauaKalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
chartered the predecessor of the Pioneer Federal Savings Bank. - 1895: Samuel M. Damon bought Bishop & Co. from Charles Bishop.
- 1885: Claus SpreckelsClaus SpreckelsClaus Spreckels, formally Adolph Claus J. Spreckels , , was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican and territorial periods of the islands' history...
and William G. Irwin established a second bank, Claus Spreckels & Co. - 1900: First American Bank of Hawaii is established. It was the United States Government's depository in the Hawaii Islands.
- 1906: The Baldwin Bank is founded in MauiMauiThe island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
. - 1910: Bishop & Co. bank opened its first branch in Hilo. Claus Spreckels & Co. incorporated as Bank of Honolulu.
- 1911: Bishop & Co. opened its first branch on KauaiKauaiKauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
, at WaimeaWaimea-Places:United States*Waimea, Hawaii County, Hawaii *Waimea, Kauai County, Hawaii*Waimea Bay, Hawaii on Oahu*Waimea Canyon State Park on Kauai*Waimea Ditch on Kauai*Waimea River on Kauai*Waimea Valley on OahuNew Zealand...
. - 1916: Chinese-American Bank is established as the first bank to serve the Chinese-American community in Hawaii.
- 1917: The Army National Bank of Schofield Barracks was founded out of a branch of Bishop & Co., and took a national charter.
- 1919: Bishop & Co.incorporated as Bank of Bishop & Co.
- 1922: The bank acquired Bank of Honolulu.
- 1923: The bank opened a branch in the Kona districtKona District, HawaiiKona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...
of Hawaii islandHawaii (island)The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
. - 1924: The bank opened a branch on LanaiLanaiLānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....
island. - 1929: On 30 January, the bank announced that it was merging with First National Bank of Hawaii, First American Savings Bank, Army National Bank of Schofield Barracks, and Baldwin Bank (Maui). The bank changed its name to Bishop First National Bank of Honolulu. (First National Bank of Hawaii and the First American Savings Bank were an outgrowth of the First American Bank of Hawaii.)
- 1933: The bank's name became Bishop National Bank of Hawaii at Honolulu.
- 1956: The bank's name changed yet again, this time to Bishop National Bank of Hawaii.
- 1966: The bank acquired Cooke Trust Company.
- 1969: The bank's name became First Hawaiian Bank.
- 1970: The bank opened its first branch on Guam in Dededo.
- 1975: First Hawaiian acquired the 11-branch Hawaii Thrift & Loan, which had been in financial difficulty and turned it into First Hawaiian Creditcorp.
- 1991: First Hawaiian acquired First Interstate Bank of Hawaii (20 branches, $858 million assets), which traced its ancestry back through American Security Bank, which had been established in 1935 as a reorganization of Chinese-American Bank.
- 1992: First Hawaiian acquired East West Bank, which had one branch in Honolulu and one on Maui.
- 1993: First Hawaiian acquired century-old Pioneer Federal Savings Bank (19 branches, $600 million assets). It continued to operate as a separate institution.
- 1996: First Hawaiian acquired 31 branches in Oregon, Washington and Idaho from U.S. Bancorp. It then created a new subsidiary - Pacific One Bank - to hold the branches, with a charter in Oregon.
- 1996: First Hawaiian acquired ANB Financial Corporation (4 branches, $71 million assets), owner of American National Bank in central Washington state. American National's branches eventually became part of Pacific One Bank.
- 1996: First Hawaiian built its new headquarters, the First Hawaiian CenterFirst Hawaiian CenterFirst Hawaiian Center is the tallest building in Hawaii.-Description:Located at 999 Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu near Bishop Park, the First Hawaiian Center is the world corporate headquarters of First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaii's oldest bank and multi-billion dollar company established by Charles...
. At 429 ft (130.8 m), this was the tallest building in HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. - 1997: First Hawaiian merged in Pioneer Federal and the next year merged in First Hawaiian Creditcorp.
- 1998: First Hawaiian merged with San-Francisco-based Bank of the WestBank of the WestBank of the West, is a commercial bank which sponsors the Bank of the West Classic professional tennis tournament, a U.S. Open series event.-History:Bank of the West began as Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose, California, in 1874...
, former subsidiary of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP). The surviving company, First Hawaiian, Inc., was renamed BancWest Corporation. Former First Hawaiian, Inc. shareholders owned 55% of BancWest; BNP, former owner of Bank of the West, owned 45%. - 2001: First Hawaiian Bank acquired Union Bank of CaliforniaUnion Bank of CaliforniaUnion Bank, N.A., formerly known as Union Bank of California, N.A., is a full-service commercial bank providing an array of financial services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations...
's branch network in GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and SaipanSaipanSaipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
(3 branches, $200 million assets). In December, the French bank, BNP Paribas, completes 100% acquisition of First Hawaiian Bank and its parent company BancWest. Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, however, continued to operate as separate institutions.