The parent company hopes to
triple its California holdings

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

The parent of Bank of Hawaii is looking to triple its presence in the West Coast over the next two years.

Lawrence Johnson, chief executive officer of Pacific Century Financial Corp., today said that the company hopes to have as much as $2.5 billion in assets on the West Coast by acquiring "one or two" additional California banks.

Pacific Century will complete its $183 million acquisition of Encino-based CU Bancorp tomorrow. The deal, the company's first California acquisition, will give Pacific Century about $850 million in assets in the Golden State.

"The whole purpose is to expand our presence throughout the Pacific Rim," Johnson said. "We see (California) as a key ingredient of our Pacific franchise."

Johnson did not reveal potential candidates but he said the banks generally would be small- to medium-sized banks that specialize in business lending.

The companies would likely have ties with businesses that are active in the Pacific Rim, complementing the local bank holding company's expansion throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Johnson took issue with a recent American Banker article that speculated that potential candidates include Cathay Bancorp, GBC Bancorp, First Business Corp. and Santa Barbara Bancorp. He said the company does not discuss potential acquisitions.

Pacific Century, formerly Bancorp Hawaii Inc., announced plans last year to expand its mainland business when it named former Castle & Cooke executive Tom Leppert as vice chairman. The company for years has operated in Arizona.

Rival First Hawaiian Inc. last year expanded to the mainland when it acquired 33 branches from U.S. Bancorp and American National Bank for a total of $53 million.

Pacific Century is Hawaii's top financial company with about $14 billion in assets.