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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, January 21, 2005

BancWest quarterly earnings up 12 percent

By Deborah Adamson
Advertiser Staff Writer

The parent of First Hawaiian Bank yesterday reported a 12 percent increase in net income for the fourth quarter, driven by acquisitions as well as internal growth of existing businesses.

BancWest Corp, which also owns California-based Bank of the West, earned $128.3 million compared with $114.6 million in the like period a year ago.

Revenue — noninterest income plus net interest income — increased by 17 percent to $494.5 million from $422.8 million last year.

"It was a really strong quarter on both sides of the puddle, so to speak," said Don McGrath, the new chief executive of BancWest, a California resident who succeeded Walter Dods on Jan. 1. "Both franchises had double-digit earnings increases."

First Hawaiian Bank's financial results will be broken out when BancWest files its 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission as early as next month.

BancWest reported a 30 percent increase in total assets to $50.1 billion at year end, with 543 branches, making it the seventh largest bank holding company in the Western region of the United States.

In the quarter, BancWest's net interest income rose by 14.8 percent to $378.4 million. Net interest income is the interest earned from loans and investments minus what the bank pays on deposits and other liabilities.

Noninterest income — other sources of income for the bank such as fees and service charges — went up by 24.6 percent to $116.1 million year-over-year.

Loans/leases and deposits rose 27 percent each, to $32.7 billion and $33.6 billion, respectively.

Reach Deborah Adamson at dadamson@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8088.