Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Fed approves BancWest purchases
The Federal Reserve has given the parent of First Hawaiian Bank approval to buy two mainland bank companies in deals worth a total $1.4 billion.BancWest Corp. is buying Community First Bankshares Inc., which operates more than 130 branches in about a dozen Western and Midwestern states, for about $1.2 billion in cash, and USDB Bancorp., the Stockton, Calif.-based parent of Union Safe Deposit Bank, for $245 million.
Both deals are set to close Oct. 31, pending approval by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. BancWest said it expects to merge Community First and Union Safe Deposit Bank into its Bank of the West subsidiary in December and January, respectively.
The mergers will make BancWest the seventh largest bank holding company in the Western United States with $46 billion in assets and more than 525 branches.
State to sell $225 million in bonds
The state plans to sell $225 million worth of general obligation bonds on Thursday, the Department of Budget and Finance said.Proceeds from the bonds will be used to pay for construction projects at state schools, community colleges, universities, parks and libraries as the need arises, said Scott Kami, who heads the department's Financial Administration Division.
The bonds will be priced and sold in New York and will mature from Oct. 1, 2009, through Oct. 1, 2024.
The issue has been assigned Fitch Ratings' fourth-highest investment grade.
Hawaiian Air agrees to mediation
Hawaiian Airlines and one of its former executives have agreed to a mediation settlement conference over the alleged violation of a noncompete agreement.The company and John Happ, the former vice president of marketing and sales who now has a similar position with Hawaiian competitor ATA, will present their arguments Nov. 8 to Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King. At issue are whether Happ went to work for an airline that conducts 5 percent or more of its business with Hawaii and whether Happ is entitled to more than $437,000 that is based partly on what he is owed from his separation agreement and part of the damages he suffered after being terminated from Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian is suing Happ in a separate proceeding over alleged damages caused by Happ taking his position with ATA. A trial is set for Jan. 24.
Farm gets USDA grant to market taro products
W.T. Haraguchi Farm in Hanalei has received a $85,255 federal grant to market the taro farm's products, U.S. Rep. Ed Case has announced.The grant is one of 97 totaling $13.1 million awarded nationwide by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help ag businesses carve out markets for promising farm products.
The Haraguchi grant will be used to conduct a study on the viability of marketing products made from taro and to develop business and marketing plans for the products.
S&P says HMSA outlook is negative
Standard & Poor's Ratings Service said yesterday it was affirming its A+ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Hawaii Medical Service Association but also keeping its outlook on HMSA as negative.The ratings reflect HMSA's strong capitalization and liquidity, as well as its strong market position, S&P said. Offsetting the positive factors are its marginal earnings profile, narrow geographic scope and exposure to recently enacted rate regulation.
