BancWest to stop filing SEC statements

The company will continue to issue earnings figures for First Hawaiian Bank

BancWest Corp., parent company of First Hawaiian Bank and San Francisco-based Bank of the West, said yesterday it will discontinue filing voluntary financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Honolulu-based holding company, a wholly owned subsidiary of French banking giant BNP Paribas SA, said it also will no longer issue earnings releases for BancWest. However, the bank said it will continue issuing earnings releases for First Hawaiian Bank, whose $11.6 billion in assets rank it first in the state, and for the first time will put out separate operating results for Bank of the West.

BancWest, whose year-end statement was filed yesterday with the SEC, said it will continue submitting regular financial reports with bank regulatory agencies.

BancWest, which had the remainder of its outstanding shares acquired by BNP Paribas in 2001, said its board made the decision to discontinue the SEC filings because it no longer has outstanding public securities. Outstanding trust preferred securities held by non-BNP parties were redeemed in full in December.

"This is a good thing because it will allow both banks to become more visible in their communities in terms of individual business," BancWest spokesman Roberta Wong said from the bank's administrative office in San Francisco.

BancWest, which has more than $66 billion in assets, has 681 branches operated by Bank of the West in California, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington state, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

In 2005, BancWest had net income of $590.4 million, up 24.7 percent from 2004.

Separately, First Hawaiian said yesterday it will be opening a new full-service, 2000-square-foot branch on Monday at Wailea Town Center in Wailea, Maui. It will be the 57th branch in the state for the bank, which also has three branches on Guam and two on Saipan. Victor Corpuz will manage the Maui branch, which will have a grand opening featuring live entertainment, refreshments and free giveaways from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.