---

Banking on
a long career

A lifelong employee of
American Savings Bank
will retire after 46 years

Elizabeth Kunishima had wanted to retire in January after 46 years at American Savings Bank, more than half the institution's 80 years in business. But the assistant controller of the bank's treasury department has too much operational knowledge to be allowed to leave so ... soon.

Officials persuaded her to stay until a successor could be found. It hasn't happened yet.

"It WILL be this year," said Kunishima, 65. "I want to make sure that the (department) of the bank is comfortable."

The department oversees the bank's investments, funding, liquidity and cash, and maintains compliance with federal regulations.

---

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Liz Kunishima, 65, will retire soon after working at American Savings Bank since 1959. It was her first and only job and she started out as a mail messenger. She was pictured yesterday in front of the downtown branch.

---

Kunishima's career started in 1959 as a mail messenger for the bank when it was three-branch savings and loan with fewer than two dozen employees. The bank now has 65 branches statewide.

"I would do odds and ends in the office and, being young and inquisitive, I would stop at the teller windows and ask, 'What are you doing?'" she said.

She was soon promoted to keypunch operator, making data cards and performing other tasks as she asked and learned more.

"It's not like today where you go to a department and you specialize. In that small office, you did everything."

She did some time as a teller at the then-brand-new Kalihi branch.

"I was a good teller ... but I'm very hot-headed." She suggested bank management take her out of that position because, "If I'm right, I'm going to tell the customer I'm right," she chuckled.

Kunishima's work experience and understanding of operations grew along with the bank and she was put to work in different areas. Kunishima marvels at the work that was done manually back then, such as posting to the ledger.

"It's so unbelievable how we could go without computers."

Times were different.

Born and raised on Maui, Elizabeth Ganialongo grew up poor with eight siblings. After graduating from Baldwin High School, she moved to Oahu to help her pregnant sister. She attended business school and worked on the sales floor at Kress, a discount retailer. She dreamed of becoming an executive secretary, never imagining that she would become an executive.

"Oh definitely not, no, because when you're young ... you think about wearing high heels and sitting at a desk and taking notes."

By 1997, she received the first Hawaiian Electric Industries President's Award for Extraordinary Employee Contributions. Kunishima was honored for a project that enabled the bank, owned by HEI, to keep more efficient levels of reserves and save money.

"I was so lucky to have an assistant controller like Liz," said Ralph Nakatsuka, 25-year American Savings veteran and chief lending officer. Kunishima worked for him in the finance division for 18 years, but before that, he had known Kunishima while he was a member of the KPMG audit team handling the bank.

"Even then, Liz was the go-to person when we had any questions. She had a great understanding of all aspects of the bank," he said.

"I tell you, she has the same energy and the same can-do attitude from the very first day I stepped in the door."

Once Kunishima is allowed to step out the door, she plans to expend her energy working out, taking computer classes, learning to make scrapbooks and keeping her regular weekend dancing date with her husband, Norman.