Central Pacific CEO to retire at year end
Central Pacific Financial Corp. said Monday that president and CEO Clint Arnoldus will retire at the end of the year.
The terms of Arnoldus's contract put the value of his retirement and compensation package at about $5 million, Central Pacific board chairman Ronald Migita said.
Arnoldus, 61, joined the company in 2002. Central Pacific (NYSE: CPF) said it will begin to search immediately for a new president and CEO of Hawaii's fourth largest bank.
Arnoldus told PBN that the idea to retire was his and that family considerations weighed significantly in the decision.
"It's something I broached with the board — I'm a family man and even though we love Hawaii when we're this far apart, with six kids and 14 grandchildren, if I can retire when I'm at a good point and still have a lot of options left, it made sense."
Before joining Central Pacific, he served as chairman, president and CEO of Community Bank, based in Pasadena, Calif. He has also held top executive positions at banks in Nevada and New Mexico.
Arnoldus led Central Pacific through the politically difficult acquisition of City Bank in 2004, which at the time was seen as a necessary deal to expand Central Pacific's market and tap into City Bank's lucrative home-loan business
The merger fueled impressive growth in deposits, loan and profits in 2005 and 2006, but as the real estate business softened in 2007, Central Pacific's exposure to some of City Bank's old loans to California developers weighed heavily on the bank pay day loans.
Last month, Central Pacific announced it was taking a $48 million non-cash charge, citing its declining stock price and the diminished value of its portfolio in California. The company had to restate its 2007 profits to $5.8 million to include the charge, compared to $79.2 million in 2006.
Despite the difficulties in California, Ardnoldus said no one was second-guessing the City Bank deal and said the bank's executives and the board had all agreed that the bank needed to diversify its holdings beyond Hawaii.