UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report: March 29, 2006

(Date of earliest event reported)

BANCWEST CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		0-7949		99-0156159
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

999 Bishop Street, Honolulu, Hawaii		96813
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (808) 525-7000

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

£ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

£ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

£ Pre-commencement communication pursuant to rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

£ Pre-commencement communication pursuant to rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

Item 8.01     Other Events

On March 29, 2006 BancWest Corporation issued a News Release announcing that it will discontinue filing reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The News Release is furnished as Exhibit 99 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.

SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

     Dated: March 29, 2006

EXHIBIT 99

BancWest Corporation To Discontinue
 
Voluntary SEC Reporting

(San Francisco, CA, March 29, 2006) BancWest Corporation, parent company of Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, announced that effective with today’s filing of the BancWest 2005 10-K report, the corporation will discontinue filing financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

BancWest became a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas in December, 2001, when BNP Paribas acquired all of the outstanding shares of BancWest common stock. BancWest continued as a voluntary reporter with the SEC, based upon outstanding trust preferred securities. Those securities were redeemed in full in December, 2005.

“Since BancWest has no outstanding public securities, our Board has determined to discontinue filing public reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission,” said BancWest Chief Executive Officer Don J. McGrath. “While this will reduce the visibility of BancWest, our principal subsidiaries Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank will continue to announce operating results, and file regular financial reports with Bank regulatory agencies.”

About BancWest:
 
BancWest Corporation (www.bancwestcorp.com) is a financial holding company with assets of more than $66 billion. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com), an international financial services group. BancWest is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, with an administrative headquarters in San Francisco, California. Its principal subsidiaries are Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com) with 681 branch banking locations in California, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington State, Wisconsin and Wyoming; and First Hawaiian Bank www.fhb.com with 61 branches in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.

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