October 28, 2003

First Hawaiian Bank Rated ‘Outstanding' For Community Reinvestment Programs

(Honolulu, Hawaii, October 28, 2003) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has rated First Hawaiian Bank “Outstanding” for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).  First Hawaiian has received this top rating for meeting Hawaii’s credit needs in every FDIC evaluation since 1995.  Only 17 percent of all financial institutions nationwide earn an “Outstanding” CRA Rating.

The Community Reinvestment Act is a federal law that encourages banks to help meet the credit needs of their entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The FDIC and other financial regulators regularly assess compliance with CRA and rate each institution either: Outstanding, Satisfactory, Needs to Improve or Substantial Noncompliance.

The FDIC rated First Hawaiian “Outstanding” on all three CRA tests – lending, community development investments and delivering responsive services through its retail branch system.  The FDIC said First Hawaiian Bank’s record in small-business loans, consumer loans and residential mortgage loans “reflects excellent responsiveness to the credit needs” of Hawaii. The bank made more than $2.3 billion in such loans in its markets during 2001-02, the period evaluated by the FDIC.

"We’re proud of our commitment to meet the credit and service needs of all of Hawaii's people, including those living in the low-and moderate-income areas of our state,” said First Hawaiian Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Walter A. Dods, Jr.

First Hawaiian Bank ($9.7 billion 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.