Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Friday, July 4, 1997

Bankoh completes
its buyout of CU Bancorp

ENCINO, Calif. -- Pacific Century Financial Corp., the parent of Bank of Hawaii Inc., said it completed its $183 million stock and cash acquisition of CU Bancorp, in a bid to expand its geographic reach. The companies announced the deal in February.

Encino, California-based CU Bancorp, operating as California United Bank, has 21 branches in southern California. Pacific Century said California Union Bank has about $820 million in assets.

"California United Bank will provide a platform from which we will be able to leverage our already strong presence in Asia and throughout the Pacific region," Lawrence Johnson, chairman and chief executive of Pacific Century, said yesterday.

Hawaii airlines
rated highly in safety report

Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines are tied for first place in airline safety, according to a new report. So, however, are 19 others among 29 U.S. airlines listed.

The Air Travelers Association, formed recently to look after consumers' interests in aviation, based its information on data on flights and fatalities from Airclaims Ltd., a British company.

The results were good for U.S. carriers overall. Only one of them received an "F" -- ValuJet, for its fatal crash last year in the Florida Everglades. All the others got an "A."

New German law
seeks to regulate Internet

BONN, Germany -- Germany today passed a law regulating the Internet that officials say will help control illegal uses of cyberspace and at the same time boost electronic commerce.

Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government says the law makes Germany the first country to set rules for digital signatures, codes used to secure communications in electronic commerce.

The provisions on combating illegal use of the Internet, such as for pornography, have stirred controversy. The law says on-line providers can be prosecuted for offering a venue for illegal content if they do so knowingly and it is "technically possible and reasonable" to prevent it.

Critics say the law may in fact deter investors in Internet services because it does not state clearly to what extent the providers would be liable for content they don't control.