Bank of Hawaii history

1911 – Bank opened first branch on Kauai, at Waimea.

1914 – Samuel Damon retired.

January 2, 1919 – Bank, formerly a partnership, incorporated as Bank of Bishop & Co., Ltd.

February 20, 1920 – Acquired Bank of Honolulu ($1.3 million deposits). Total bank assets, $17.1 million.

1923 – Bank opened branch in Kona.

July 1924 – Samuel Damon died.

November 9, 1925 – New 75,000-square-foot headquarters opened on the prime downtown corner of King and Bishop Streets.

1926 – Mele Williams L'Orange became first female officer (assistant cashier).

January 30, 1929 – Merger announced between Bank of Bishop and First National Bank of Hawaii, First American Savings Bank, Army National Bank of Schofield Barracks, Baldwin Bank (Maui). Name changed to Bishop First National Bank of Honolulu.

1933 – Name changed to Bishop National Bank of Hawaii at Honolulu.

Several credit unions, a new form of financial institution authorized by Congress in 1936, also existed, including: the O‘ahu Teachers, Honolulu Construction and Draying, Hawai‘i Territorial Employees’, and Honolulu Police federal credit unions.

In December 1941, on the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were seven banks operating in Hawai‘i.

1956 – Name changed to Bishop National Bank of Hawaii.

1958 – As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, bank donated $50,000 to Bishop Museum for planetarium construction.

By the time Hawaii gained statehood in 1959, there were nearly 600,000 residents on the eight major islands, outranking Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming, Vermont, and Delaware.

Restricted by law to first mortgages under $35,000, with down payments ranging from 25-40%, the S & Ls were the largest provider of Hawai‘i’s home mortgages by 1960, controlling over 40% of the market.

1962 —Hawaii's first "skyscraper" built on the same block as Damon building.

1963 —First computer installed.

1966 —Bank acquired Cooke Trust Company, Ltd.

In 1969, our name was changed to First Hawaiian Bank, the bank that says, "Yes!"

With an expanding population, especially on O‘ahu, new branches were built to service the suburbs and various areas of Honolulu, and by 1970 the number of branch banks on O‘ahu alone had more than tripled.

March 1971 —Introduced photo credit card.

1972 —First ATMs installed.

In 1973, Bancorp Leasing of Hawaii, Inc. was formed to provide, as its name suggested, leasing and leasing services primarily to commercial customers.

1974 —First Hawaiian, Inc. formed as holding company for First Hawaiian Bank with John Bellinger as president and chief executive officer.

1976 — Deposits exceed $1 billion.

1982 — Deposits exceed $2 billion.

May 3, 1991 — First Hawaiian acquired First Interstate Bank of Hawaii (20 branches, $858 million assets), quickly integrating its operations into the First Hawaiian system.

August 6, 1993 — First Hawaiian acquired century-old Pioneer Federal Savings Bank (19 branches, $600 million assets). It continued to operate as a separate institution.

Pacific One opened June 3, 1996, providing a platform for future Mainland expansion.

To reflect its increasingly international focus, which had been developing for decades, the holding company changed its name in 1997, adopting Pacific Century Financial Corporation as its new corporate title.

June 9, 1998 — First Hawaiian Creditcorp was merged into First Hawaiian Bank.

May 7, 2001 – Board of BancWest entered into a merger agreement to accept BNP Paribas' offer to acquire the 55% of BancWest stock it did not already own for $35 in cash per share.

In April 2002, the Pacific Century name was dropped, replaced by a corporate title reflective of the narrowed focus of its operations: Bank of Hawaii Corporation.

Employees: 2,600 Total Assets: $9.76 billion (2004) Stock Exchanges: New York Ticker Symbol: BOH NAIC: 522110 Commercial Banking; 551111 Office of Bank Holding Companies

2008 – First Hawaiian Bank celebrates its 150th anniversary.

2011 – First Hawaiian introduces FHB Mobile Banking giving customers access to their accounts through their smartphone or mobile device.

For Immediate News Release December 12, 2014

HONOLULU — Fans of the annual State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) photographic calendar will find an unique historic journey in the 2015 edition, which highlights the evolution of Hawaii’s financial institutions.

February 12, 2019 – First Hawaiian, Inc. becomes a fully independent company once again as BNP Paribas exits its ownership position.