It was not until 1959 that BOH made another novel move when it opened its first Pacific Islands branch on
Kwajalein. Two years later, it opened a branch in both
Palau and
Guam. Ten years later, BOH continued its international expansion by absorbing
Bank of American Samoa, which the Navy had established in 1914. That same year, it created
Banque de Tahiti as a joint venture between itself and
Crédit Lyonnais. The next year, BOH established a branch in
Yap. Branches in
Ponape and
Kosrae followed in the subsequent years. It also continued its expansion outside Hawaii with the establishment of a branch in Saipan. Three years later, BOH and Crédit Lyonnais established another joint-venture,
Banque de Nouvelle Calédonie in
Nouméa. In 1980, BOH opened a branch in
Tokyo. BOH acquired Wells Fargo Bank's Seoul, Korea, and Singapore operations in 1991. Two years later, it acquired
Banque Indosuez's operations in
Vanuatu, which became Banque d’Hawaii (Vanuatu). That same year, BOH also opened its first branch in
Suva,
Fiji in 1993. Branches in Nadi and Lautoka followed. In 1994, BOH acquired
Commonwealth Bank of Australia's 51% ownership in the
National Bank of Solomon Islands. BOH also acquired Crédit Lyonnais' holdings in Banque de Nouvelle Calédonie, giving BOH 91 percent ownership. Banque de Nouvelle Calédonie changed its name to Bank of Hawaii—Nouvelle Calédonie. BOH also purchased Banque Indosuez Nuigini in
Papua New Guinea from Banque Indosuez for $5.6 million and renamed it Bank of Hawaii (PNG) Ltd. In addition to its main office in
Port Moresby, Bank of Hawaii (PNG) also had an office in
Lae, PNG's second port city on the Northeast Coast. Indosuez Nuigini was established in 1983 with 49 percent Indosuez participation, 41.5 percent
Bank of Papua New Guinea, and the remainder public.
International acquisitions In 1998, BOH bought 5.4mn convertible notes of
Bank of Queensland for $22 million as part of a strategic alliance giving rise to a true reflecting of the convertible note value into 49% ownership at that time. It also acquired 100 percent of
Banque Paribas Pacifique (est. 1972; 3 branches) and 70 percent of
Banque Paribas Polynésie (est. 1984; 1 branch). BOH integrated the operations with Bank of Hawaii-Nouvelle Calédonie and Banque de Tahiti, respectively. In 1999, BOH bought 5.8mn shares (approx. 10 percent) in Bank of Queensland.
Withdraw from international financial services markets In 2001, BOH sold its 6.2mn shares and 5.4mn convertible notes in Bank of Queensland for $20 million and $16 million respectively. The decision reflected PCFC's new strategic plan, which mandated a focus on the bank's core markets in Hawaii,
American Samoa, and
Guam. BOH sold its shareholding in the
Bank of Tonga and
Pacific Commercial Bank of Samoa to
Westpac. BOH and Westpac both had 30 percent interests in Bank of Tonga and 42 percent interests in Pacific Commercial Bank. BOH sold its operations in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji to
ANZ for AU$100 million. BOH sold its approximately 95 percent share interest in its French Polynesia and New Caledonia operations to France-based ''Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne'' (CNCE). Its operations in French Polynesia included 17 branches of its subsidiary, Banque de Tahiti, and about 265 employees. Its operations in New Caledonia included eight branches of subsidiary Bank of Hawaii-Nouvelle Caledonie and about 190 employees. Lastly, BOH closed its offices in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei. In 2002, BOH was unable to find a buyer for its bank properties in the Central Pacific when it was trying to withdraw from those markets. As a result, BOH closed its
Majuro branch in the
Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and its three branches in Pohnpei, Yap, and Kosrae in the
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). BOH turned over its 51 percent interest in National Bank of Solomon Islands to the government of the
Solomon Islands. ==Governance==