First Hawaiian
to eliminate another
50 positions

The job cuts come as it
reports a 3.5 % increase in
first-quarter earnings,
partly from cost cutting

By Rick Daysog
Star-Bulletin

First Hawaiian Inc. plans to eliminate another 50 jobs as part of its ongoing effort to lower payroll costs this year.

The state's second-largest financial institution said the cuts reflect the company's previously announced plan to merge its First Hawaiian Creditcorp subsidiary into its main subsidiary, First Hawaiian Bank. The merger is expected to save First Hawaiian about $4 million a year.

First Hawaiian Inc., which employs more than 3,000 here and on the mainland, expects that most of the 50 jobs will be eliminated by attrition and not through layoffs. The company in January announced it would cut about 100 positions, including some layoffs, and last year it eliminated about 200 jobs through attrition.

"(The efforts) are a necessary step because we don't expect sizable revenue growth soon from the struggling island economy," said Walter Dods, First Hawaiian's chairman and chief executive officer. In another cost-cutting measure, the company has frozen the salaries of more than 50 top executives, Dods said.

The moves come as other large Hawaii employers have announced major downsizings during the past several months. Pacific Century Corp., parent of Bank of Hawaii, announced plans in February to eliminate about 550 positions, largely through attrition, over the next two years.

Reflecting previous cost-cutting measures and growth from its Pacific Northwest operations, First Hawaiian today reported a 3.5 percent earnings increase for the first quarter 1998.

The company said it netted $21.2 million, or 68 cents a share, during the three months ending March 31, up from $20.5 million, or 64 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

The results were slightly higher than Wall Street analysts' expectations for the first quarter.

The company said its two-year-old investment in its Pacific Northwest units, dubbed Pacific One Bank, continues to increase earnings and improve the company's balance sheets.

The company said its total assets improved slightly to $8.1 million during the first quarter while loans increased 5.8 percent to $6.3 billion while total deposits were up 3.2 percent to $6.1 billion.