Charles Reed Bishop became ‘Hawaiʻi’s First Banker’ and formed Bishop & Co Bank in 1858. In 1895, Samuel M Damon bought Bishop & Co; after the turn of the century the bank started opening neighbor island branches, including the Waimea branch on Kauai in 1911.

The Waimea branch at one time served the entire island of Kauai. As the economy of the island developed, however, additional branches on that and other islands were opened. The Bank incorporated as Bank of Bishop & Co. Ltd in 1919. After some mergers, in 1956 it was renamed Bishop National Bank of Hawai‘i; in 1960, First National Bank of Hawai‘i; then, in 1969, First Hawaiian Bank.