BANK OF THE WEST

'Bank of the West', with $56.7 billion in assets at March 31, 2007, is a full-service commercial bank serving customers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming through a network of more than 700 retail and commercial locations. A subsidiary of holding company BancWest Corporation, Bank of the West is the third-largest commercial bank based in the Western U.S. Currently wholly-owned by French universal bank BNP Paribas (BNPP), Bank of the West traces its origins back to California and 1874.
Subsidiary Essex Credit Corporation offers loans on marine pleasure craft and recreation vehicles. Subsidiary BW Insurance Agency, Inc. offers auto, homeowners, commercial, worker’s compensation and general liability insurance. Subsidiary BancWest Investment Services offers mutual funds, annuities, IRA and other tax-advantaged accounts, education savings plans, and life insurance.
The BancWest Corporation is the holding company of both 'Bank of the West' in the Western United States, and First Hawaiian Bank in Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan. 'Bank of the West' is a sponsor of the annual Bank of The West Classic tennis tournament, A US Open Series Event.
'Bank of The West' sponsors many sporting events including the annual Bank of the West Classic pro tennis tournament.

Contents

Divisions

History

External links

Divisions

The Regional Banking Group provides consumer and commercial banking services and products – deposit accounts, credit cards, insurance, investments and wealth management services, private banking, mortgage & home equity credit and residential construction lending through:


Retail Branches - individuals and small businesses with up to $1 million in credit needs;

Commercial Banking Offices – middle-market commercial customers with up to $50 million in annual revenue;

Construction Loan Offices – residential construction relationships with up to $5 million in credit needs;

Private Banking Offices – high net-worth individuals served with a specialized product set through a single point of contact;

762 ATMs plus Internet & Telephone Banking channels.

A specialized “Pacific Rim Banking” division appeals to Asian businesses and individuals through 19 multi-lingual branches in California.


Regional Banking also encompasses National Finance, which handles residential mortgages, auto loans & leases, as well as loans for marine pleasure craft and recreational vehicles nationwide, directly to consumers and through 5,600 dealers. Essex Credit Corporation, a subsidiary, focuses on brokerage and refinancing of larger marine and RV credits.
The Commercial Banking Group serves larger corporate customers through these primary business lines:


National Banking Division – serves companies with annual revenues greater than $50 million requiring specialized expertise and customized product solutions;

Agribusiness – serves agricultural customers whose credit needs exceed $500,000; Bank of the West is the # 3 lender to production agriculture in the U.S.;

Real Estate Industries – serves commercial real estate and construction clients with credit needs of more than $5 million.


The Commercial Banking Group also provides expertise and specialized services in:

• Equipment financing through the bank’s branches and brokers across the U.S., including vendor finance programs

• Religious institution credit – the largest bank lender in the U.S.

• Cash management

• Loan syndication

• Trade finance

• SBA credit – through branches, online, and representative offices nationally

• Correspondent banking services for financial institutions and municipalities

• Health care institutions and Government agencies

• Capital markets

History

★ 1874: The Bank of the West began as Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose, California.

★ 1880: When all bank notes became convertible to gold or silver, the bank converted from a Gold National Bank and changed its name to the First National Bank of San Jose, California.

★ 1970: Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) established French Bank of California.

★ 1970s: First National Bank of San Jose changed its name to Bank of the West.

★ 1979: BNP bought Bank of the West and merged in French Bank of California.

★ 1987: BW bought Bank of Los Gatos.

★ 1990: BW bought Central Banking Systems.

★ 1991: BW bought 30 branches in Northern California from failed Imperial Savings and Loan.

★ 1992: BW bought Atlantic Financial Federal Savings Bank from the Resolution Trust Corporation.

★ 1993: BW bought 15 branches in Northern California from Citibank.

★ 1995: BW bought NorthBay Savings Bank headquartered in Petaluma, CA.

★ 1995: First Hawaiian (see below) established Pacific One Bank to hold 30 branches in Washington, Oregon and Idaho that it acquired from West One Bank.

★ 1997: BW bought branches from Bank of America and Coast Federal Bank.

★ 1998: BNP and First Hawaiian Inc., the parent of First Hawaiian Bank and Pacific One Bank, created a company under the BancWest Bancorp name to hold BW and First Hawaiian Bank, with BW absorbing Pacific One. The creation of BancWest Bancorp caused now BNP Paribas’ (BNPP) ownership of the holding company to fall to 45%. BNPP also agreed not to increase its ownership of the bank holding company before November 2001.

★ 1999: BW bought Sierra West Bancorp. This transaction temporarily diluted BNPP’s ownership of the holding company to 42%.

★ 2001: First Security Bancorp and Wells Fargo Bank merged. To avoid antitrust issues, they sold First Securities’ branches in New Mexico and Wells Fargo’s branches in Nevada to BW.

★ 2001: First Hawaiian Bank bought Union Bank of California’s branches in Guam and Saipan. First Hawaiian had established its first branch in Guam in 1970 and its first branch in Saipan in 1997. (Union Bank of California had established its branch in Guam in 1974.)

★ May 2001: The independent directors of BancWest Bancorp established a Special Committee that then unanimously voted to accept BNPP’s offer to acquire the remaining 55% of BancWest Bancorp, making the holding company a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP.

★ Dec. 2001: BW bought United California Bank from UFJ Bank, of Japan.

★ Mar. 2004: BW announced the purchase of Community First Bankshares, a bank holding company that operated Community First National Bank, headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, which had 155 offices in 12 states -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Soon after BW agreed to buy USDB Bancorp, parent of Union Safe Deposit Bank.

★ Dec. 2005: BW bought Commercial Federal Corporation of Omaha, Nebraska. This merger added offices in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma to Bank of the West.

★ Feb. 2006: BW opened a representative office in Tokyo, Japan.

External links

★ Bank of the West

★ BancWest Corporation

★ BNP Paribas Bank

★ Branch Locator

★ Bank of the West Classic

★ Bank of the West Beach Games