First Hawaiian owner posts profit drop

Advertiser Staff

BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest lender and the owner of First Hawaiian Bank, posted a 20 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by investment banking. Chairman Michel Pebereau said he's now seeking to expand his consumer lending business in the U.S.

Net income fell to $758 million, or 84 cents a share. Revenue fell 4.5 percent to $4.6 billion.

BNP bought United California Bank in March and combined it with its BancWest Corp. unit, which includes First Hawaiian. BNP now has 1.5 million customers on the West Coast, and is the No. 5 bank in California, which has an economy the size of France's.

Correction: The headline on a previous version of this story incorrectly said BNP Paribas SA, First Hawaiian Bank's owner, posted a loss in the fourth quarter. The company in fact reported net income of $758 million.