First Hawaiian Bank parent BancWest Corp., beefed up by its acquisition earlier this year of the largest Los Angeles-based bank, said yesterday that third-quarter earnings soared 52.5 percent from a year ago. Acquisition boosts
BancWest earningsThe company bought United
California Bank earlier this yearBy Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.com
BancWest, which has now doubled its presence in California, said it earned $97.1 million from $63.6 million a year ago. Earnings per share weren't reported because the company is now owned by Paris-based BNP Paribas, which acquired BancWest in December for $2.4 billion.
Honolulu-based BancWest said that in the third quarter it completed the process of folding United California Bank branches into its other subsidiary, Bank of the West.
"The expansion of Bank of the West's 'bear' brand to new communities makes us the third-largest bank headquartered in California," said Walter A. Dods Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of BancWest.
In September, Bank of the West introduced its brand across the state at more than 100 former UCB locations -- 74 in Southern California, 22 in Northern California and 12 in Central California.
"This gives Bank of the West a solid foundation in Southern California," said Don J. McGrath, president and chief operating officer of BancWest and president and CEO of Bank of the West.
Bank of the West launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign and also opened two Southern California branches in the Santa Clarita Valley communities of Valencia and Porter Ranch.
The purchase of United California in April from UFJ Holdings of Tokyo gave BancWest an additional $10 billion in assets and 115 branches throughout California.
BancWest said its core earnings, adjusted for the UCB merger and acquisition costs as well as nonrecurring items during 2001, were $100.7 million in the quarter, up 58.2 percent from $63.6 million a year ago.
"It's rewarding to see earnings growth despite the region's economic struggles," Dods said.
Its assets, loans and deposits all received hefty boosts from year-ago levels because of the acquisition. Assets were $34.3 billion, up 73.4 percent from $19.8 billion; loans and leases were $24.1 billion, up 61.9 percent from $14.9 billion; and deposits were $24.4 billion, up 66 percent from $14.7 billion.