Bancwest Corporation

Along with TD Bank North Inc. and Northern Trust Corporation, the list of American commercial banks with geographical names is well complemented by Bancwest Corporation - a financial services holding company, formed in 1998. The structure was founded after a merger between the holding companies Bank of the West, San Francisco and First Hawaiian Bank, Honolulu. Three years later, the public entity became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas. The corporation is headed by Mr. J. Michael Shepherd, President and CEO, and has over ten thousand officials working in a network of over 760 offices and retail banking centers across the United States and overseas.

Through its subsidiaries, Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, the corporation provides a broad range of banking and financial services including lending and investment solutions, consumer banking services, small business financing and SBA loans, private banking and wealth management services.

Founded in 1874 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Bank of the West has rightfully claimed its place among the top 25 commercial banks in the United States. Founded in 1858 and headquartered in Honolulu, First Hawaiian Bank is the oldest and largest financial institution in Hawaii in terms of deposits and assets. It has sixty-three local branches and representational offices in Grand Cayman, British West Indies and Tokyo, Japan. The bank is also Hawaii’s largest lender, holding two-thirds of the local business and household lending market.

To their individual clients, the team of Bank of the West is pleased to offer a set of integrated banking and wealth management services including checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards issuance, certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts, money market and insurance solutions. The bank’s loan portfolio includes mortgages and home equity loans, construction financing, loans for the purchase of motor vehicles, as well as loans for the military at preferential rates. The bank has an online banking service with a bill-payment option. The wealth management services of Bank of the West encompass private banking and investment services, retirement planning, and education savings.

In support of the owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, Bank of the West has developed a set of flexible business banking and financial services such as business checking and savings accounts and deposits, and credit cards for business people with lucrative reward programs. The financing solutions of the bank encompass business credit lines and leasing solutions for the purchase of equipment, agriculture loans, and loans for small business administration, project financing and construction loans, commercial real estate financing, financial support for churches and religious communities, business insurance plans, and a business online banking service.

For their corporate and institutional clients, the experts of Bank of the West have developed a set of flexible corporate banking and financial services including commercial and corporate lending, equipment financing, deposits and investments, wealth management and capital market analyses, international financial assistance, as well as financing of government institutions, religious and healthcare organizations and charities.

Commercial Banks Guide > Bancwest Corporation