First Hawaiian Bank: Hawaii/Guam

HONOLULU December 14, 2004 -- The Board of Directors of First Hawaiian Bank today formally appointed Donald G. Horner as the bank's President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2005, following the retirement of Walter A. Dods, Jr.

Dods, 63, will retire as Chief Executive Officer at the end of this year. He will continue to serve as non-executive Chairman of the Board. He will also retire as CEO of BancWest Corporation, the bank's parent company.

"I'm honored by the confidence placed in me by the board and Walt. I am very much looking forward to the challenge," Horner said. Also, I am blessed with a seasoned management team and dedicated, caring employees who are committed to serving our communities.

Horner, 54, a 26-year employee at First Hawaiian Bank, is currently its President and Chief Operating Officer. He began his banking career as a credit analyst with First Hawaiian in 1978 and steadily moved up to positions of increasing responsibility, including President of its First Hawaiian Leasing and First Hawaiian Creditcorp subsidiaries.

In 1994, he was named head of the Retail Banking Group, responsible for all of First Hawaiian's consumer and business banking in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan including the 61-branch network, business banking centers and private banking. He was named President and COO in January 2003.

"He's an outstanding leader," Dods said of Horner. "He has been a success in every area of our bank. Don is more prepared to take over as CEO than anyone in our bank's history."

About First Hawaiian Bank.First Hawaiian Bank ($10.1 billion assets) was founded in 1858 and is Hawaii's oldest bank and largest bank, based on both total assets and Hawaii deposits. 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 $49 billion.