Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, October 31, 1997
Isle bank transfer set for Dec. 6
American Savings Bank's $96 million acquisition of Bank of America's Hawaii branches and assets is set to be completed on Saturday, Dec. 6.When the branches reopen on Dec. 8, the Bank of America name will be gone. There will be 69 American Savings branches.
During the changeover, 10 of the 39 Bank of America branches will close, as will seven of the 47 American Savings branches, in locations where the two banks are close together.
American Savings, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., said that during the transition weekend the existing American Savings in-store branches at Foodlands and Sack-N-Saves will be open their normal hours.
The automated teller machines at the American Savings branches also will be working.
The Bank of America ATMs will get switched on one by one through the weekend as they get transferred to the American Savings system.
The merger was made possible by yesterday's approval by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision. The Department of Justice still has an opportunity, through the next two weeks, to review the details of the merger.
Wayne Minami, American Savings president, said the Dec. 6 transfer date gives the company time for a smooth transition.
It will mark the end of retail banking in Hawaii for San Francisco-based Bank of America, which entered the market with its $165 million purchase of Honfed bank five years ago.
HVCB schedules spring trade show
The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau's 1998 Hawaii Travel Makeke, a trade show and a series of seminars for travel agents and other buyers of Hawaii travel and tourism services from around the world, will be held April 15-18 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island.The HVCB said last year's show, which was held on Maui, attracted more than 250 buyers and sellers.
The show is being organized for the HVCB by two consulting firms, Colorado-based AmeriGroup Inc. and Picolla International of Oakland, Calif.
Pleasant Hawaiian cuts fare to promote 'Net
Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, the largest wholesaler of travel to Hawaii, is offering $179 round-trip airfares from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Honolulu or Maui to help attract interest in some changes it has made to its Internet Web site.Pleasant Hawaiian, based in Westlake Village, Calif., has geared its site http://pleasant.net so that consumers can check availability of aircraft seats, hotel rooms and rental cars and actually make bookings. They can elect to have the tickets issued by their favorite travel agent, select an agent from a list or book direct with Pleasant Hawaiian.
The company's enhanced Web site includes videos of Hawaii and "virtual tours."