October 21, 2003

First Hawaiian Bank Promotes New Branch Managers

(Honolulu, Hawaii, October 21, 2003) – First Hawaiian Bank has named two area managers and two new branch managers and announced new Private Banking and Business Banking assignments, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Walter A. Dods, Jr. announced today.

Vice President Gayle L. Pingree has been named Waipahu Branch Manager and Area Manager with additional responsibilities for Kapolei, Ewa and Waianae Branches.  She most recently managed Kahala Branch and has also managed branches in Hawaii Kai, Kuapa Kai and Kona. She was born in Kailua and is a graduate of Punahou School, the University of Hawaii and Pacific Coast Banking School.  She is president of the Kahala Business Association and an officer of the Rotary Club of East Honolulu.

Vice President Greg Sitar has been named Pearlridge Branch Manager and Area Manager with additional responsibilities for Pearl City Branch and business loans in the Leeward area.  He most recently was Waipahu Branch Manager and Area Manager and also has managed branches in Moanalua and Mililani.  Sitar is a graduate of Damien Memorial High School, University of Hawaii and the Pacific Coast Banking School.  He is president of Central Oahu Youth Baseball League and a board member at Damien and Mililani Town Association.

Vice President Stephen E.K. Kaaa has been named Kahala Branch Manager.  For the last five years, he has been a Private Banking Officer.  Previously, he was Eaton Square Branch Manager.  Born in Honolulu, he is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and Gonzaga University.  He is a board member of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund.

Assistant Vice President Steve Lim is the new Kailua Branch Manager. He has previously been a commercial banker, business banking officer and Assistant Manager of Kalihi Branch.  The Honolulu-born Lim is a graduate of Kalani High School and the University of Hawaii.  Lim is a Boy Scout District Roundtable commissioner for Kaala District.

Vice President Vernon Nakamura has been named Business Banking Officer at the First Hawaiian’s Main Banking Center.  He was previously Pearlridge Branch Manager and Area Manager.  Nakamura, who has been with First Hawaiian Bank for 25 years, was born in Honolulu and is a graduate of Iolani School, the University of Hawaii and Pacific Coast Banking School.  He is a board member of Palama Settlement, Nuuanu YMCA and Kamehameha Lions.

Vice President Ann McLean has been named a Private Banking Officer.  She previously was Kailua Branch Manager and has also been Kalakaua Branch Manager and a business banking associate.  She is a graduate of the Graduate School of Retail Bank Management at the University of Virginia.  She is group and district president of Financial Women International and is a board member of Kailua Chamber of Commerce, Windward Oahu Rotary Club and Windward Senior Day Care Center. 

First Hawaiian Bank ($9.3 billion in assets) was founded in 1858 and is Hawaii’s oldest bank. It has 56 branches in Hawaii, three on Guam and two on Saipan. It is a subsidiary of BancWest Corporation, the largest Hawaii-based bank holding company, with assets of $37.4 billion.