BancWest earnings rise 52.5 percent in quarter

By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer

The parent company of First Hawaiian Bank said third-quarter earnings jumped 52.5 percent on increased earnings related to the company's acquisition of United California Bank.

BancWest Corp., Hawai'i's largest bank holding company, reported net income for the three months that ended Sept. 30 rose to $97.1 million from $63.7 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Adjusted for merger costs related to the acquisition and other nonrecurring items last year, BancWest reported a profit of $100.7 million, up 58.2 percent from $63.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

"It's rewarding to see continued earnings growth despite the region's economic struggles," Walter Dods, BancWest's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement yesterday.

BancWest, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, is a privately held company and the parent of San Francisco-based Bank of the West.

In March, BancWest acquired United California from UFJ Holdings of Tokyo in a $2.4-billion cash transaction. United California, then the largest Los Angeles-based bank, had assets of $10 billion and 115 branches in California.

Dods said the acquisition and the bank's integration into Bank of the West doubled the company's presence in California.

"This gives Bank of the West a solid foundation in Southern California," said Don McGrath, president and chief operating officer of BancWest.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, BancWest said it had net income of $259.1 million, up 35.4 percent from $191.3 million for the same period in 2001.

Total assets rose 73.4 percent to $34.3 billion during the quarter from $19.8 billion. Loans and leases were $24.1 billion, up 61.9 percent, and deposits rose 66 percent to $24.4 billion, reflecting the acquisition of United California Bank.

BancWest said net interest income rose 51.7 percent to $320.7 million in the third quarter of 2002, up from $211.4 million in the same year-ago period.