First Hawaiian rating improves

Advertiser Staff

Standard & Poor's yesterday raised its ratings on BancWest Corp. and its units, including First Hawaiian Bank, following Paris-based BNP Paribas' acquisition of the 55 percent of the company that it didn't already own.

BancWest's counterpart credit ratings were raised to A+/A-1 from BBB+/A-2 and those of its two banking subsidiaries, Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, were raised to A+/A-1 from A-/A-2. At the same time, the bank and its subsidiaries have been removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed on May 7.

The outlook for all three entities is stable. S&P said the higher ratings reflect the full ownership of BNP Paribas and the implied financial support it carries. Also, Banc-West Corp. is viewed as a strategically important subsidiary of BNP Paribas, operating as its primary U.S.-based banking group.