In 2001, BOH sold its 6.2mn shares and 5.4mn convertible notes in Bank of Queensland for $20 million and $16 million respectively. The decision reflected PCFC's new strategic plan, which mandated a focus on the bank's core markets in Hawaii, American Samoa, and Guam. BOH sold its shareholding in the Bank of Tonga and Pacific Commercial Bank of Samoa to Westpac. BOH and Westpac both had 30 percent interests in Bank of Tonga and 42 percent interests in Pacific Commercial Bank. BOH sold its operations in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Fiji to ANZ for AU$100 million. BOH sold its approximately 95 percent share interest in its French Polynesia and New Caledonia operations to France-based Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne (CNCE). Its operations in French Polynesia included 17 branches of its subsidiary, Banque de Tahiti, and about 265 employees. Its operations in New Caledonia included eight branches of subsidiary Bank of Hawaii-Nouvelle Caledonie and about 190 employees. Lastly, BOH closed its offices in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei.
In 2002, BOH was unable to find a buyer for its bank properties in the Central Pacific when it was trying to withdraw from those markets. As a result, BOH closed its Majuro branch in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and its three branches in Pohnpei, Yap, and Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). BOH turned over its 51 percent interest in National Bank of Solomon Islands to the government of the Solomon Islands.
