Bank of Hawaii sells
corporate trust businessAbout 80 accounts worth about
$3 billion were purchased
by Bank of New York
Bank of Hawaii Corp. has agreed to sell its corporate trust business to Bank of New York Co. for an undisclosed amount.
The transaction will be the 11th acquisition this year in this field for Bank of New York, which is the top-ranked provider of corporate-trust services for company and municipal debt.
Bank of Hawaii management has said the transaction will allow the bank to focus on core business lines, which include investment, management, institutional and personal trust services, retail and commercial banking. Bank of Hawaii corporate trust customers will continue to realize a high-level of service after the transaction, said George Fillion, executive vice president at Bank of Hawaii.
"The Bank of New York is a well-respected provider of corporate trust services, and we are confident that our customers will continue to receive the high standard of service that they have come to expect," Fillion said.
The transaction is not expected to affect the asset balance sheet for Bank of Hawaii, as the business was immaterial from a revenue standpoint, said Stafford Kiguchi, Bank of Hawaii spokesman.
"Although this was not part of our core business, we definitely intend to remain strong in the personal trust side of the business," Kiguchi said.
Only two Bank of Hawaii employees were affected by the sale and there will be no layoffs as a result, Kiguchi said. One of the employees is expected to join Bank of New York and the other will be offered another position within Bank of Hawaii, he said.
The sale involves the transfer of about 80 bond-trust and agency agreements, worth about $3 billion, to BNY Western Trust Co., Bank of New York said in a statement. Terms of the sale weren't disclosed.
The purchase, expected to close early next year, adds to the bank's portfolio of more than 85,000 trustee and agency agreements, representing more than $1 trillion in securities, for 30,000 clients. Bank of New York, the third largest New York-based bank, has been expanding its corporate-trust business. The sale closely follows the Bank of New York's Nov. 24 announcement of its plans to acquire the corporate trust business of Fifth Third Bank.
"This acquisition further underscores our commitment to the corporate trust business and expands our relationship with Bank of Hawaii," said Kevin Heine, a spokesman for Bank of New York. "This book of business complements our presence in Hawaii and the western United States."