U.S. national banks of Hawaii

The first bank established in the Kingdom of Hawaii was Bishop & Co., founded by Charles Reed Bishop and William A. Aldrich in 1858. Almost 25 years later, Spreckels & Co. was founded by Claus Spreckels in partnership with William G. Irwin in 1884. The Kingdom opened the Hawaiian Postal Savings Bank on July 1, 1886. By 1895 the Yokohama Specie Bank opened a branch in Honolulu and the merchant importer/exporter Hackfeld & Co. went into banking. Following the annexation of Hawaii in July 1898, plans were set in motion to establish the First American Bank of Hawaii backed by investors in New York and California. A prospectus soliciting stock subscriptions was released on May 8, 1899, and the bank opened for business on September 5, 1899. The founding board of directors included Cecil Brown (President), B.F. Dillingham (Vice-President), M.P. Robinson, Bruce Cartwright, and G.W. Macfarlane. Additional officers included W.G. Cooper (Cashier), E.M. Boyd (Secretary), and George F. McLeod (Auditor). The expressed purpose for founding the bank was to eventually convert it into a National Bank under the National Bank Act. On April 30, 1900 a special act of Congress extended the National Banking Act to include the Territory of Hawaii.

The First National Bank of Hawaii at Honolulu was organized on July 25, 1900 and received operational authorization (bank charter #5550) from the Comptroller of the Treasury on August 23, 1900. The bank opened for business on October 1, 1900 with $500,000 capital on deposit with the U.S. Treasury.

The founding board of directors included: Cecil Brown (President), Mark P. Robinson (Vice-president), Bruce Cartwright, Frank Hustace, and George Macfarlane. By the end of 1901 only Brown and Robinson remained from the founding group, joined by Lincoln L. McCandless, Gilbert J. Waller, and August Dreier.

The initial national bank notes issued in 1900 were signed by bank president Cecil Brown and cashier W.G. Cooper. Cooper was replaced by Levi Tenney Peck in 1905. Due in large part to failing health, in 1915 Brown resigned as president to become Chairman of the Board and Peck became president. Brown died in 1917.

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