Twelfth Consecutive Quarter of Positive Growth

View 4th Qtr 2014 Saipan Business Activity Report (pdf, 12 KB)

(Gualo Rai, Saipan, February 12, 2015) –First Hawaiian Bank’s 2014 fourth quarter Business Activity Report (BAR) for Saipan showed a 10.46 percent increase for “same store sales” in the same period in 2013, according to Laura Dacanay, First Hawaiian Bank senior vice president and CNMI Region Manager.  This was the twelfth consecutive quarter of positive growth since first quarter 2012.  For the year, overall credit and debit card sales were up by 10.52 percent.

“For 2014 overall, 10 out of 11 sectors made positive gains with eight of the eleven sectors posting double digit increases,” said Dacanay.  “Hotels topped the list for fourth quarter 2014 for the first time since second quarter 2013. The sectors finished the year strongly with positive gains made by all eleven sectors in the fourth quarter 2014. These are all good indications that consumer confidence has returned, further adding momentum to the economic recovery.”

The BAR monitors tracks card sales activity in 11 different economic sectors including retail, hotels, home improvement, restaurants, shipping and travel activities, among others. 

First Hawaiian is a major card processor of debit and credit sales transactions.  In 2014, the bank processed over $4.7 billion worth of customer credit and debit sales transactions.  The bank provides merchant services to nearly 7,000 First Hawaiian Bank merchant locations throughout Hawaii, Guam, CNMI and the U.S. Mainland. 

First Hawaiian Bank (fhb.com) with total assets of $18.1 billion was founded in 1858 and has been serving the CNMI region for over 17 years.  The bank processes all major U.S. credit cards as well as JCB, China Union Pay, and BC Global Card.