First Hawaiian Bank: Hawaii/Guam

(Honolulu, Hawaii, November 29, 2004) First Hawaiian Bank has renamed the park area in front of First Hawaiian Center as "The Walter A. Dods, Jr. Plaza" in honor of the bank's retiring Chief Executive Officer.

Directors of BancWest Corporation, parent company of the bank, dedicated the plaza in his name "to recognize Walter Dods' many achievements, to honor his strength of character, and to acknowledge his role in conceiving of and constructing First Hawaiian Center in Honolulu." BancWest directors adopted a resolution praising his 15 years as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, saying "Walter A. Dods, Jr. led BancWest's transformation into one of the leading regional bank holding companies in the United States."

"First Hawaiian Center was Walter's baby right from the start. He was intimately involved in coming up with the striking design. While it was being built, he enjoyed playing the role of sidewalk superintendent, visiting the construction site in a hard hat," said First Hawaiian President Don Horner. "It's very fitting that his name be associated with it in this way."

The building, completed in 1996, is set back from Bishop and King Streets with 24,000 square feet of plaza space featuring landscaping and water features, an area now known as "The Walter A. Dods, Plaza." It is the corporate headquarters for First Hawaiian Bank and BancWest.