Hawaii's second-largest bank introduced generative AI tools in 2025 under a retiring CEO who called AI 'a dramatic, technological, operational shift' he could not fully predict, and handed the next phase to a new chief executive in April 2026.
How is Bank of Hawaii using AI?
Bank of Hawaii Corporation, the Honolulu parent of Bank of Hawaii with about $24 billion of assets, 350,000-plus digital enrolments and 6.4 million average monthly logins, has taken a cautious, explicit stance on AI. In a September 2025 interview, then chairman and CEO Peter Ho said 'AI is a dramatic, technological, operational shift that's happening in front of our very eyes' and that, much as he believed in 'the accretive power of that capability', there were 'elements that I just don't know how they ultimately play out for our organization', naming AI and shifting consumer behaviour as the changes shaping his two-to-three-year vision. The bank's 2025 10-K lists technology, AI and cybersecurity among its risk factors, and at the April 2026 annual meeting the new president and CEO, James Polk, who succeeded Ho on 1 April 2026 after Ho's retirement, reported that the bank had 'introduced generative AI tools' during 2025 alongside five new or renovated branches, including a new Lahaina branch, and a West Pacific headquarters in Guam. Financially 2025 net income was $206 million, or $4.63 per diluted share, on $24.2 billion of assets and $21.2 billion of deposits; second-quarter 2026 net income was $63.8 million, or $1.47 per share, up 11.1% on the quarter, with a 15.47% return on common equity, a 0.10% annualised net charge-off rate and 0.08% non-performing assets. The annual report and 10-K say more about the tools than earlier disclosures did: Microsoft Copilot was rolled out to all employees in July 2025, after three training modules employees had to complete to gain access; 60 employees act as 'AI Ambassadors'; and 'a robust governance framework was established to ensure responsible AI use, which incorporates policies, oversight committees, and ethical review protocols'. In his final chairman's message Ho wrote that 'AI is a vital part of a modern business, and this is the beginning of a thoughtful journey to incorporate its capabilities responsibly.' The 10-K adds a stand-alone AI risk factor stating that the bank and/or its vendors, clients or counterparties 'have in the past developed or incorporated' AI in business processes. On the first-quarter 2026 call, Polk's first as CEO, management said the bank had spent a lot of time building its AI governance and risk management and was working on AI use cases in wealth-management discovery and the call centre to create operating leverage, while calling it early to read results. The bank sits on Mid-Pacific Institute's AI Advisory Council and presented an AI case study at the July 2026 EdFuture Summit. Data is run by chief data officer Torrie Inouye; no AI budget or AI leader has been named in the bank's own disclosures, and customer-facing content warns about AI voice cloning and AI-assisted scams. Bank of Hawaii is a Hawaii state member bank supervised by the Federal Reserve.
Lead bank
Bank of Hawaii
Assets (lead bank, Mar 31, 2026)
$24 billion
Charter
Hawaii state member bank (Federal Reserve)
Headquarters
Honolulu, HI
AI leadership
James C. Polk · Bradley Satenberg · Peter S. Ho · Torrie M. Inouye
- Generative AI tools introduced in 2025: Microsoft Copilot rolled out to all employees in July 2025 after mandatory training, 60 AI Ambassadors, and an AI governance framework with policies, oversight committees and ethical review protocols.
- Q1 2026 call: AI governance and risk management built out; use cases in progress in wealth-management discovery and the call centre, aimed at operating leverage.
- The 10-K carries a stand-alone AI risk factor; no AI budget or named AI executive disclosed by the bank.
- Former CEO Peter Ho on AI: 'a dramatic, technological, operational shift' with outcomes he could not fully predict; retired 31 March 2026, succeeded by James Polk.
- Technology, AI and cybersecurity listed among enterprise risks in the 2025 10-K.
- Digital scale: 350,000-plus digital enrolments and 6.4 million average monthly logins; five branches built or renovated in 2025.
- 2025 net income $206 million ($4.63 per share); Q2 2026 net income $63.8 million ($1.47), ROE 15.47%, charge-offs 0.10%.
- West Pacific headquarters opened in Guam; new Lahaina branch after the Maui wildfires.
What has Bank of Hawaii done on AI, and when?
- Jul 27, 2026
Second-quarter 2026 results[11]
Net income $63.8 million; EPS $1.47; ROE 15.47%.
- Jun 11, 2026
Scam guidance for seniors[1]
Top ten scams and how to avoid them.
- May 20, 2026
AI case study at the EdFuture Summit[10]
Bank of Hawaii, a member of Mid-Pacific Institute's AI Advisory Council, presents an AI case study at the 21–22 July summit it sponsors.
- Apr 28, 2026
Annual meeting: generative AI tools introduced in 2025[5]
Five branches built or renovated (including Lahaina), a West Pacific headquarters in Guam and 2025 results, as reported from the virtual meeting.
- Apr 20, 2026
Q1 2026 call: AI use cases in wealth and the call centre[9]
Management cites AI governance and risk work and use cases aimed at operating leverage; too early for results.
- Apr 1, 2026
James Polk becomes president and CEO[5]
Peter Ho retires after 16 years as CEO.
- Mar 13, 2026
2025 annual report: AI governance framework and 60 AI Ambassadors[6]
Policies, oversight committees and ethical review protocols for responsible AI use; Ho calls AI 'a vital part of a modern business'.
- Feb 24, 2026
- Feb 11, 2026
AI and oversharing guidance for customers[8]
Warns that AI tools let scammers collect, analyse and act on what people post.
- Feb 3, 2026
Ho retirement and Polk succession announced[7]
Polk, then president and chief banking officer, to become CEO on 1 April; Ho to consult to the bank until the end of 2027.
- Sep 21, 2025
CEO Peter Ho on AI as an operational shift[2]
Belief in AI's 'accretive power' paired with uncertainty about outcomes for the bank and community.
- Jul 1, 2025
Where does Bank of Hawaii use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generative AI tools for employees[5][6][4] | Introduced in 2025; Microsoft Copilot available to all employees from July 2025 after three training modules, supported by 60 AI Ambassadors. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| Responsible-AI governance framework[6] | Policies, oversight committees and ethical review protocols established in 2025. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| AI risk-factor disclosure[4] | Stand-alone 10-K risk factor: evolving AI regulation, incorrect or biased generative-AI output, model opacity and reliance on third-party models. | In production | Model risk management |
| AI use cases in wealth discovery and the call centre[9] | Being worked on for implementation to create operating leverage (Q1 2026 call). | Pilot | Customer-facing chatbots |
| AI listed as an enterprise risk[4] | Technology, AI and cybersecurity risk factors in the 10-K. | In production | AI governance (general) |
| Digital banking scale[6] | 350,000-plus enrolments; 6.4 million average monthly logins, up 21% from 2024. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Scam education for seniors[1] | Top-ten scams guidance. | In production | Fraud detection |
| AI-assisted scam awareness[8] | Guidance on how AI tools help scammers exploit social-media posts. | In production | Fraud detection |
Use-case links open the tracker's rules-by-use-case matrix: which documents govern each system type.
Which AI vendors and fintechs does Bank of Hawaii work with?
| Company | What Bank of Hawaii uses it for | Status | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft Copilot introduced to every employee (2025 annual report). | In production | Enterprise AI assistants |
Each vendor and fintech page cites the source for the relationship, and vendor pages list products, pricing and other bank customers. Compare AI tools for banks by category, or read the fintech and neobank AI dossiers.
What has Bank of Hawaii disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 net income / diluted EPS | $206 million / $4.63[5][3] | Apr 28, 2026 |
| Q2 2026 net income / diluted EPS | $63.8 million / $1.47[11] | Jul 27, 2026 |
| Digital enrolments / average monthly logins | 350,000+ / 6.4 million[6] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| AI Ambassadors | 60 employees[6] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Employees with Microsoft Copilot access | All employees (from July 2025)[6] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Return on average common equity, Q2 2026 | 15.47%[11] | Jul 27, 2026 |
“AI is a dramatic, technological, operational shift that's happening in front of our very eyes.”[2]
Peter Ho · Chairman and CEO (retired March 2026) · Sep 21, 2025
“We recognize that AI is a vital part of a modern business, and this is the beginning of a thoughtful journey to incorporate its capabilities responsibly.”[6]
Peter Ho · Chairman and CEO (chairman's message, 2025 annual report) · Mar 13, 2026
Who runs AI at Bank of Hawaii?
James C. Polk
President and CEO (from 1 April 2026)[5]
Bradley Satenberg
Chief Financial Officer[5]
Peter S. HoLinkedIn ↗
Torrie M. InouyeLinkedIn ↗
EVP and Chief Data Officer[6]
Which regulators govern Bank of Hawaii's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Reserve | Bank of Hawaii is a state member bank; Fed model-risk and third-party guidance govern generative AI tools and vendors. | SR 11-7 SR 23-4 |
| CFPB | Consumer products bring UDAAP and chatbot-guidance exposure to any customer-facing AI. | CFPB Chatbots in Consumer Finance (issue spotlight, 2023) |
| SEC | AI risk-factor disclosure in the 10-K sits within SEC scrutiny of AI-related statements. | Division of Examinations FY2026 Priorities |
Side by side: SR 11-7 vs SR 26-2 · PRA SS1/23 vs SR 26-2 · OCC vs CFPB on AI lending · all comparisons.
What does the public record suggest about Bank of Hawaii's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
A new CEO can set the AI agenda
Polk inherits generative tools already deployed and a predecessor's candour about uncertainty; the first strategic statement on AI is his to make.
02
Digital scale is the asset
Six million monthly logins on an island franchise is a rich data set for service and fraud models that has not been described.
03
Risk-factor disclosure should evolve into use-case disclosure
Listing AI as a risk without naming its uses tells investors less than peers now provide.
04
Pristine credit gives room to experiment
Charge-offs of 0.10% mean AI need not start in credit; operations and service are lower-risk starting points.
Does Bank of Hawaii use AI?
Yes. Bank of Hawaii introduced generative AI tools in 2025: Microsoft Copilot was rolled out to all employees in July after mandatory training, 60 employees serve as AI Ambassadors, and the bank set up an AI governance framework with policies, oversight committees and ethical review protocols. On its first-quarter 2026 call management said it was working on AI use cases in wealth-management discovery and the call centre. The 10-K carries a stand-alone AI risk factor; no AI budget has been disclosed. Former CEO Peter Ho described AI as a dramatic operational shift whose outcomes for the bank remained uncertain.
Who leads Bank of Hawaii now?
James C. Polk became president and CEO on 1 April 2026 after Peter Ho retired as chairman and CEO. Bradley Satenberg was promoted to chief financial officer.
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- Financial Summary, 2025 Annual Report
- Bank of Hawaii Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Bank of Hawaii Shareholders Re-Elect Directors, Approve Pay and EY as Auditor at Virtual AGM
- Bank of Hawai‘i Corporation 2025 Annual Report (Form ARS)
- Peter Ho to Retire as Bank of Hawai‘i CEO
- AI and Oversharing: Tips to Stay Safe on Social Media
- Bank of Hawaii (BOH) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- EdFuture Summit 2026: Preparing Hawaiʻi to Lead with AI
- Bank of Hawai'i Corporation Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
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