Acquisition boosts
BancWest earnings

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By Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.com

First Hawaiian Bank parent BancWest Corp., bolstered by the acquisition of United California Bank, said yesterday net income soared 46.5 percent in the second quarter due largely to the addition of 115 new branches.

BancWest, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paris-based BNP Paribas SA and the parent of Bank of the West in the western mainland, showed sizable increases in all key areas during first full quarter in which United California was part of BancWest.

United California, previously the largest Los Angeles-based bank, was acquired March 15 from UFJ Holdings of Tokyo in a $2.4 billion cash deal and merged into Bank of the West on April 1. The acquisition more than doubled BancWest's California presence

Honolulu-based BancWest, which no longer has per-share figures since it is now owned by the French banking giant, had net income of $96.6 million in the quarter compared with $65.9 million a year earlier.

Fortified by $10 billion in assets acquired through the United California transaction, Bancwest ended the second quarter with total assets of $34 billion, up 75.9 percent from $19.3 billion a year earlier. Loans and leases in the quarter grew to $24.2 billion, up 66.3 percent from $14.5 billion. Deposits swelled to $24.1 billion, up 64.9 percent from $14.6 billion.

BancWest said its core earnings -- which doesn't include the United California merger, integration costs and 2001 nonrecurring items -- were up 67.5 percent in the second quarter of 2002 to $98.2 million from $58.6 million a year ago.