To know where you’re going, it often helps to understand where you’ve come from. For many small family businesses in the Islands, the ability to trace back through the generations to humble roots and pure entrepreneurial spirit is both a source of inspiration and responsibility. At Hawaii National Bank, started in 1960 by local entrepreneur K.J. Luke, its third generation of family leadership continues to embrace its history while also evolving for the future.
K.J. Luke’s story is one of a local boy made good. Originally from the Big Island, Luke graduated with honors in accounting from the University of Hawaii and applied and was accepted to Harvard Business School. After graduation, Luke returned to Oahu and saw an opportunity to build a new bank in the booming, post-statehood economy. After being granted a federal charter to become the only national bank in Hawaii, Hawaii National Bank opened its first location in Honolulu’s Chinatown neighborhood. By that afternoon, their first-day deposits had broken national deposit records.
A keystone banking institution with ten branch locations on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island, Hawaii National Bank is locally owned and managed. Now helmed by the Luke family’s third generation, Bryan Luke, Hawaii National Bank is a true family business serving new generations of Hawaii customers with their philosophy of highly personalized service.
One thing hasn’t changed in the past 63 years—Hawaii National Bank is the Home of Warm-Hearted Bankers, keeping the banker in banking and helping locally owned businesses and customers thrive.
Source : HawaiiBusiness
