First Hawaiian hires outsider for top financial post

By Chental-Song Bembry July 26, 2018, 3:38 p.m. EDT 1 Min Read

First Hawaiian in Honolulu has snagged an executive from First Republic Bank as its new chief financial officer.

Ravi Mallela will also serve as treasurer starting in September, the $20.2 billion-asset company said Wednesday.

Chief Operating Officer Eric Yeaman had served as acting CFO after Michael Ching resigned from the bank in January.

Mallela "brings to our senior management team a depth of knowledge and corporate finance expertise that we will leverage and build upon as we move forward with our strategic plans for the bank,” Bob Harrison, First Hawaiian Bank chairman and CEO, said in the press release.

Mallela was the head of finance and treasury at First Republic, where he oversaw corporate treasury, financial planning and analysis, investment operations and monitoring, cash management, and capital and liquidity stress testing.

First Hawaiian's holding company, BNP Paribas, is spinning off the bank. First Hawaiian held an initial public offering in 2016 and since then BNP has been selling its stake in the bank.

Chental-Song Bembry

Reporter, American Banker

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