First Hawaiian: Business Activity Highest in Two Years

First Hawaiian Bank. Kihei branch. Photo by Isotov.

By Sonia Isotov

According to the latest First Hawaiian Bank Business Activity Report (BAR), “same store sales” for the first quarter of 2011 is up 10.38% over the same period last year.

This is the highest year-over-year increase in the past two years, according to Keith Nagata, senior vice president and Business Services Division Manager.

“This strong showing is further indication that consumer confidence is growing and that Hawaii’s economic recovery is continuing,” said Nagata, in a written statement.

“A total of 15 out of the 16 sectors showed an increase over 2011, with eight sectors posting double-digit increases over the prior year. We remain cautiously optimistic that this positive trend will continue in the future.”

The BAR tracks sales activity in 16 different economic sectors including automobile, retail, hotels, home improvement, restaurants, shipping and travel, among others. First Hawaiian Bank has over 7,500 merchant locations throughout Hawaii, Guam, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and the US and therefore is able to provide a broad measure of economic activity.

In 2011, the bank processed over $4.1 billion worth of credit and debit card sales transactions, an increase of 8.0% over 2010.

First Hawaiian Bank, with assets of $16.1 billion, was founded in 1858 and is Hawaii’s oldest and largest financial institution. The bank processes all major US credit cards as well as JCB, BC Global and China Union Pay.