Business briefs

Advertiser Staff

Wilcox to end long-term care

Wilcox Memorial Hospital on Kaua'i will cease operating its Long Term Care Services Division around June 1 and turn it over to Garden Isle Healthcare LLC, which bought the division in March.

The sale will affect about 101 staff members, who have union "bumping" rights, hospital officials have told the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Morgan Stanley to cut Isle fund

Morgan Stanley's asset-management unit plans to trim seven retail mutual funds from its lineup, including the $14 million Morgan Stanley Hawaii Municipal Trust.

The firm also said in a news release it plans to liquidate six institutional funds, and discontinue four separately managed account portfolios.

Most of the cuts are coming from Morgan Stanley's municipal-bond fund offerings, according to regulatory filings yesterday.

The seven retail funds have combined net assets of about $270 million. The largest fund slated to be liquidated is the Morgan Stanley Fund of Funds-International Portfolio, with assets of about $73 million. The Hawaii Municipal Trust is the smallest.

BancWest Corp. plans purchase

BancWest Corp., the parent of First Hawaiian Bank, said yesterday it will buy USDB Bancorp, parent company of Union Safe Deposit Bank, for $245 million. USDB Bancorp is headquartered in Stockton, Calif., and had total assets of $1.2 billion at the end of last year.

After completion of the transaction, Union Safe Deposit Bank branches will become part of Bank of the West.