BancWest Corp., parent of First Hawaiian Bank and Bank of the West, posted a 56 percent increase in its first-quarter earnings. BancWest earnings up
The First Hawaiian Bank parent
sees profit rise 56 percentStar-Bulletin staff
The company said it had a net profit of $102.1 million in the first quarter, up from $65.4 million in the first quarter of last year.
BancWest said that although some of the rise was because of its March 2002 acquisition of United California Bank, its existing operations also improved.
"Both Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank continue to achieve double-digit percentage gains in income and we're also beginning to see the full benefits of the United California Bank acquisition," said Walter A. Dods Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of BancWest.
BancWest is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paris-based BNP Paribas but continues to issue its own financial reports.
The company ended the quarter with assets of $34.9 billion, up 4.8 percent from $33.3 billion a year earlier.
United California Bank's $10 billion in assets had been included in the tally for the first quarter of 2002 because the acquisition took place in mid-March 2002.
Loans and leases totaled $24.2 billion at the end of the first quarter and the company said that was virtually unchanged from a year ago. Deposits of $24.3 billion were up 1 percent.
BancWest said its quarterly revenues were up 42.8 percent from the equivalent period last year. Net interest income was up 40.4 percent year over year, primarily because of the United California acquisition, the company said.
BancWest Corp.