In so many ways, 2021 has been a difficult year. But one area that has done well is the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up nearly 20%, while the broader S&P 500 has gained more than a quarter in the past year. It’s also been a positive year for local banks — following a disappointing 2020.
Investors can look at banks in several ways.
Often that starts with the value of assets — and by that score, 2021 marked a new level of growth for most of Hawaiʻi’s publicly-held local banks.
First Hawaiian and Bank of Hawaii are the state’s biggest financial institutions — by a fair distance.
First Hawaiian saw its assets pass $25 billion this year for the first time in its history, while Bank of Hawaii was close behind — surpassing $23 billion.
First Hawaiian’s stock price is up more than 15% this year — compared to a drop of about the same amount a year ago.
Bank of Hawaii was a similar story — gaining a bit less this year — though up more than 10%, after a fall of about 16% a year ago.
American Savings Bank saw its assets climb above $9 billion for the first time this year — although as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries, the bank does not trade on its own as a stock.
The biggest winner this year for local bank investors was Central Pacific.
The state’s fourth-largest bank with assets topping $7 billion, Central Pacific shares rose by nearly 50% this year — after falling by more than a third in 2020.
Territorial Savings Bank has assets of a bit more than $2 billion — and its stock price is closing in on the end of the year with a gain of about 5%.
