Fitch Affirms BancWest Corporation; Rating Outlook Stable.

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'AA-' long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and 'F1+' short-term issuer rating for BancWest Corporation (BWE) and its principal operating subsidiaries Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank. The Rating Outlook is Stable. A complete list of ratings is provided below.

Fitch's affirmation largely reflects the support BWE is afforded from being owned by the highly rated BNP Paribas (rated 'AA/F1+' by Fitch), as well as the company maintaining a sound financial profile while integrating several sizeable acquisitions. Fitch believes there is an extremely high probability that BNP Paribas would support BWE should it run into financial difficulties. This assessment is derived from BNP Paribas demonstrated support of BWE's acquisitions, its presence on BWE's Board of Directors, and BNP Paribas stated desire to continue to expand in the U.S.

Despite Fitch's assessment of support for BWE, Fitch remains concerned about the capital structure of the U.S. holding company; as the tangible capital position is burdened by a significant amount of intangibles resulting from its acquisitions. However, some of the concerns are mitigated by the implied support of BNP. Nonetheless, weakening of the holding company's capital base could put pressure on its Individual rating. Fitch's view toward the differences in the capitalization of the U.S. holding company and the bank subsidiaries, which are considered sound, is reflected in the Individual ratings of the respective companies.

Fitch affirms the following ratings:

BancWest Corporation

--Long-term Issuer Default Rating 'AA-';

--Short-term issuer 'F1+';

--Individual 'B/C';

--Support '1'.

Bank of the West

--Long-term Issuer Default Rating 'AA-';

--Short-term issuer 'F1+';

--Long-term deposits 'AA';

--Short-term deposits 'F1+';

--Individual 'B';

--Support '1'.

First Hawaiian Bank

--Long-term Issuer Default Rating 'AA-';

--Short-term issuer 'F1+';

--Long-term deposits 'AA';

--Short-term deposits 'F1+';

--Individual 'B';

--Support '1'.

Community First National Bank

--Long-term deposits 'AA'.

CFB Capital Trust III & IV

--Preferred Securities 'A+'.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.