The state’s largest bank grew its assets to a record $15.2B in 2010 despite the economy
By Dave Segal
Article from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
First Hawaiian Bank’s earnings rose 4 percent in the fourth quarter to $50.2 million and its assets reached a record $15.2 billion despite an economy that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Don Horner expects to remain sluggish through 2011.
The state’s largest bank in terms of assets said yesterday it ended the year with $212.6 million in net income, down 7.8 percent over a $230.5 million profit in 2009 that included a one-time leverage lease tax gain of $29.4 million for the sale of leased equipment.
Excluding the tax gain, First Hawaiian’s core earnings for 2010 were up 5.8 percent from $201 million in 2009. In the fourth quarter of 2009, First Hawaiian earned $48.3 million.
Horner said he expects the state economy to remain sluggish this year because businesses remain in a wait-and-see mode despite signs of recovery.
“They have not begun to reinvest in their businesses because they’re remaining cautious,” Horner said. “Therefore, they are not adding to inventory or hiring or beginning construction projects because they’re still not confident in the future. There’s more cautious optimism in 2011 than there was in 2010, but that optimism is, at best, guarded because they still have this attitude of wait and see.”
Still, First Hawaiian was able to increase its portfolio of total loans and leases 3.3 percent to $8.3 billion from 2009 when it reached $8 billion for the first time. During 2010, the bank made in excess of $2.5 billion in new loans compared with more than $2 billion in 2009.
“Even though the bank had an uptick in loan demand and was one of the few banks in the state that grew its portfolio, the increase was fairly modest,” Horner said. “When we see loan growth in the 5 percent growth area, I will be more optimistic that the business investment community has gotten off the bench and gotten back into the game. Most businesses in the state continue to be very conservative and cautious and actually continue to pare down their expenses on the balance sheet as opposed to making investments.”
First Hawaiian’s assets were up 10.9 percent at year-end from $13.7 billion a year earlier while total deposits rose 2.7 percent to $10.5 billion from $10.2 billion. During the quarter, the bank set aside $12.9 million to cover potential loan losses compared with $11.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Nonperforming assets to total assets remained low at 0.25 percent compared with 0.27 percent a year earlier.
First Hawaiian, a wholly owned subsidiary of French banking giant BNP Paribas, is not required to separately report its earnings but does so voluntarily each quarter.
The Honolulu-based bank, founded in 1858, has 58 branches in Hawaii, three on Guam and two on Saipan.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Local Developer Plans Sale Of More Than 700 Acres on Maui and The Big Island
Betsill plans ‘aggressive’ sale
90% of properties are on the market
January 21, 2011 – By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
Betsill Brothers Construction Co. has put up 90 percent of its property holdings for sale – from undeveloped oceanfront lots to possible commercial developments on Maui and the Big Island – to “reduce the debt and overhead” of the company, the Realtor for the Maui-based company said Thursday afternoon.
“This is just a prudent act by the Betsills to strengthen their financial position,” said Allen Yap, senior vice president and principal broker with Clearly Maui, an entity of Betsill holdings.
Yap said other developers in Hawaii have done the same.
“We just waited a little too long. We should have done this a while ago,” he added.
Attempts to reach Betsill officials were unsuccessful Thursday afternoon.
Because of the soft economy, companies like Betsill are stuck paying mortgages and taxes for properties that are just sitting, said Yap.
He said the appraised value of the more than 700 acres for sale on Maui and the Big Island is about $47 million, but the properties are being listed at reduced prices.
For example, a 2.4-acre vacant lot on Heona Place in Kihei, appraised at $970,000, is being listed for $500,000, according to data from Clearly Maui. A 6.6-acre property in Kona, which includes entitlements for a 149-unit multifamily project, is valued at $6.4 million but is on the market for $2.9 million.
“Cash and short escrows will produce investment-grade prices,” Yap said.
Still, he stressed that this is not a “distress” or “fire” sale but one that reflects an “aggressive” marketing approach by the Betsills.
“We’ve been quietly marketing for a while,” he said. “Now what we are going to do is become more aggressive.”
He said the properties have been listed with CB Richard Ellis, where Yap will be headed to next month to become a vice president after Clearly Maui is closed.
Yap wrote in an e-mail that Clearly Maui is closing because of “lack of necessity.”
Betsill does not have any projects scheduled for completion for the next year or two, and the primary purpose of Clearly Maui was to assist Betsill with the marketing of the company’s developed projects.
It also provided consulting services to Betsill and its partners regarding projects, Yap wrote.
Ten properties being sold are in Waihee and surrounding areas, five others are in Kihei, one is in Wailuku and four are in Kona, the property listings show.
**For information on the Maui market or for questions on these and other opportunities please email Clint Hansen at ClintHansen33@gmail.com**
90% of properties are on the market
January 21, 2011 – By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
Article from: The Maui News
Betsill Brothers Construction Co. has put up 90 percent of its property holdings for sale – from undeveloped oceanfront lots to possible commercial developments on Maui and the Big Island – to “reduce the debt and overhead” of the company, the Realtor for the Maui-based company said Thursday afternoon.
“This is just a prudent act by the Betsills to strengthen their financial position,” said Allen Yap, senior vice president and principal broker with Clearly Maui, an entity of Betsill holdings.
Yap said other developers in Hawaii have done the same.
“We just waited a little too long. We should have done this a while ago,” he added.
Attempts to reach Betsill officials were unsuccessful Thursday afternoon.
Because of the soft economy, companies like Betsill are stuck paying mortgages and taxes for properties that are just sitting, said Yap.
He said the appraised value of the more than 700 acres for sale on Maui and the Big Island is about $47 million, but the properties are being listed at reduced prices.
For example, a 2.4-acre vacant lot on Heona Place in Kihei, appraised at $970,000, is being listed for $500,000, according to data from Clearly Maui. A 6.6-acre property in Kona, which includes entitlements for a 149-unit multifamily project, is valued at $6.4 million but is on the market for $2.9 million.
“Cash and short escrows will produce investment-grade prices,” Yap said.
Still, he stressed that this is not a “distress” or “fire” sale but one that reflects an “aggressive” marketing approach by the Betsills.
“We’ve been quietly marketing for a while,” he said. “Now what we are going to do is become more aggressive.”
He said the properties have been listed with CB Richard Ellis, where Yap will be headed to next month to become a vice president after Clearly Maui is closed.
Yap wrote in an e-mail that Clearly Maui is closing because of “lack of necessity.”
Betsill does not have any projects scheduled for completion for the next year or two, and the primary purpose of Clearly Maui was to assist Betsill with the marketing of the company’s developed projects.
It also provided consulting services to Betsill and its partners regarding projects, Yap wrote.
Ten properties being sold are in Waihee and surrounding areas, five others are in Kihei, one is in Wailuku and four are in Kona, the property listings show.
**For information on the Maui market or for questions on these and other opportunities please email Clint Hansen at ClintHansen33@gmail.com**
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Are You Looking For A Bank Owned Condo?
The list below contains vaction rentable and non-vacation rentable condominiums. Call Donna D. Hansen, Realtor (S) at 808-280-1650 or Bob Hansen, BROKER at 808-283-9456 for more information.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Interested in Bank Owned Properties??
Please contact Donna D. Hansen, Realtor (S) at 808.280.1650 or Bob Hansen, Broker, at 808. 283.9456 for more information on the Maui residences listed below.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Exquisite Views at Malaihi
COUNTRY LIVING AT ITS BEST!
Incredible estate perched on over 4 acres of level land in a beautiful area of Maui. Magnificent ocean views over pasture lands as well as views of the incredible West Maui Mountains are yours.
This custom home offers you every amenity with top-of-the-line custom materials such as limestone floors, cherry wood cabinets, stairs and handrails.
Enjoy 11 foot ceilings, a master suite with private balcony where morning coffee while viewing ocean waves can be enjoyed. The media room is set for great viewing and the equipment is included with the purchase of this dream home.
The garage if oversized and the 1146 sf barn makes extra storage needs easily met. There is also a dark room, alarm system, sprinkler system. The property is fully fenced with security gate.
For showings call Donna D. Hansen, (S) Realtor @ 808.280.1650 or
Bob Hansen, BROKER @ 808.283.9456.
Breaking A Bag Habit Takes Time ~ Remember To B.Y.O.B.
Breaking a bag habit takes time
Shoppers on Maui and Kauai switch to paper or reusable sacks to carry their purchases
By Rosemarie Bernardo
Associated Press
Article From: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Some supermarkets in Maui and Kauai counties are hoping more customers will get into the habit of bringing reusable bags, as stores and shoppers experienced the first week of the new ban on plastic shopping bags.
For now, many retailers are absorbing the higher cost of providing paper bags.
“Paper bags are more expensive. It’s three or four times more (than plastic),” said Rod Sueoka, manager of Sueoka Store on Kauai.
Beginning last Tuesday, no business in Maui County, including restaurants, may provide nonbiodegradable bags to customers at checkout. Businesses are required to provide recyclable paper or reusable bags for sale or at no charge.
In Kauai County, all commercial businesses, including restaurants and takeout food businesses, are required to replace plastic with recyclable or biodegradable bags. Businesses that fail to comply with the new law face fines of up to $1,000 a day.
Sueoka’s, a family-run business in Koloa, provides paper bags at no charge for customers who don’t have a reusable bag. So far, a lot of customers have not brought bring their own reusable bags. Sueoka said he hopes they will get into the habit of bringing them to lessen the cost for retailers.
Kilauea Town Market charges its customers 19 cents for each thick, paper bag — a couple cents more than the wholesale cost to the retailer — since the ban took effect. A couple of customers have been bringing in some of their old plastic bags to carry out their groceries, said store manager Rosie Morimoto.
Her advice to customers: “You have old tank tops at home, sew the bottom together,” she said, recommending converting cotton tops to hold items.
Retailers have heard a number of customers say they miss the plastic bags because they would reuse them to line small trash containers in their bathrooms or to pick up after their dogs during walks.
On Maui, shoppers at Ah Fook’s Supermarket, a family-run market at the Kahului Shopping Center, receive a 5-cent credit when they use a reusable bag. Shoppers who do not have a reusable bag are charged a nickel for a paper bag. Though most customers are aware of the ban, they still forget to bring reusable bags, general manager Raymond Hew said.
Like Sueoka, Hew hopes more customers bring reusable bags to lessen the paper bag cost to retailers.
Gary Hanagami, executive director of the Hawaii Food Industry Association, said, “If a consumer is going to need paper, it’s going to cost the retailer more. It will then be passed on to the consumer.”
Incentives like the 5-cent credit at Ah Fook’s and reusable bags sold at discounted prices are being offered by retailers to help change consumer habits.
“Our retailers understand there’s an environmental problem, especially on the neighbor islands because we don’t have HPOWER,” Hanagami said.
At the family-owned Pukalani Superette in Makawao, Maui, 95 percent of the customers are aware of the new law, but a majority “have not got into the habit of bringing (reusable bags),” said store owner Myles Nakashima, anticipating that it will take a few months for customers to adjust to the new law.
For Pukalani customers, shoppers who spend $20 worth of items can buy a reusable bag for 50 cents. If the total is under $20, reusable bags can be purchased for 99 cents, 26 cents more than the wholesale cost to the retailer.
Nakashima suggested customers leave 10 reusable bags in their car, as customers have told him they left their bags at home after putting away groceries. “I got a dozen of them in my car,” he said.
Paper bags are provided at no charge to Pukalani customers who don’t have reusable bags. But the free paper bags will likely be temporary, as the store plans to eventually charge customers because of the higher cost for paper bags. “I don’t think we’ll be able to keep this up,” Nakashima said.
Shoppers on Maui and Kauai switch to paper or reusable sacks to carry their purchases
By Rosemarie Bernardo
Associated Press
Article From: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Some supermarkets in Maui and Kauai counties are hoping more customers will get into the habit of bringing reusable bags, as stores and shoppers experienced the first week of the new ban on plastic shopping bags.
For now, many retailers are absorbing the higher cost of providing paper bags.
“Paper bags are more expensive. It’s three or four times more (than plastic),” said Rod Sueoka, manager of Sueoka Store on Kauai.
Beginning last Tuesday, no business in Maui County, including restaurants, may provide nonbiodegradable bags to customers at checkout. Businesses are required to provide recyclable paper or reusable bags for sale or at no charge.
In Kauai County, all commercial businesses, including restaurants and takeout food businesses, are required to replace plastic with recyclable or biodegradable bags. Businesses that fail to comply with the new law face fines of up to $1,000 a day.
Sueoka’s, a family-run business in Koloa, provides paper bags at no charge for customers who don’t have a reusable bag. So far, a lot of customers have not brought bring their own reusable bags. Sueoka said he hopes they will get into the habit of bringing them to lessen the cost for retailers.
Kilauea Town Market charges its customers 19 cents for each thick, paper bag — a couple cents more than the wholesale cost to the retailer — since the ban took effect. A couple of customers have been bringing in some of their old plastic bags to carry out their groceries, said store manager Rosie Morimoto.
Her advice to customers: “You have old tank tops at home, sew the bottom together,” she said, recommending converting cotton tops to hold items.
Retailers have heard a number of customers say they miss the plastic bags because they would reuse them to line small trash containers in their bathrooms or to pick up after their dogs during walks.
On Maui, shoppers at Ah Fook’s Supermarket, a family-run market at the Kahului Shopping Center, receive a 5-cent credit when they use a reusable bag. Shoppers who do not have a reusable bag are charged a nickel for a paper bag. Though most customers are aware of the ban, they still forget to bring reusable bags, general manager Raymond Hew said.
Like Sueoka, Hew hopes more customers bring reusable bags to lessen the paper bag cost to retailers.
Gary Hanagami, executive director of the Hawaii Food Industry Association, said, “If a consumer is going to need paper, it’s going to cost the retailer more. It will then be passed on to the consumer.”
Incentives like the 5-cent credit at Ah Fook’s and reusable bags sold at discounted prices are being offered by retailers to help change consumer habits.
“Our retailers understand there’s an environmental problem, especially on the neighbor islands because we don’t have HPOWER,” Hanagami said.
At the family-owned Pukalani Superette in Makawao, Maui, 95 percent of the customers are aware of the new law, but a majority “have not got into the habit of bringing (reusable bags),” said store owner Myles Nakashima, anticipating that it will take a few months for customers to adjust to the new law.
For Pukalani customers, shoppers who spend $20 worth of items can buy a reusable bag for 50 cents. If the total is under $20, reusable bags can be purchased for 99 cents, 26 cents more than the wholesale cost to the retailer.
Nakashima suggested customers leave 10 reusable bags in their car, as customers have told him they left their bags at home after putting away groceries. “I got a dozen of them in my car,” he said.
Paper bags are provided at no charge to Pukalani customers who don’t have reusable bags. But the free paper bags will likely be temporary, as the store plans to eventually charge customers because of the higher cost for paper bags. “I don’t think we’ll be able to keep this up,” Nakashima said.
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