Bank of the West Hosts 22nd Annual Pacific Rim Client Appreciation Dinner
The Bank's Chief Economist Scott Anderson provides optimistic economic outlook
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of the West, emphasizing its decades-long commitment to the Pacific Rim market, held its annual Pacific Rim Client Appreciation dinner last night in Pasadena, CA for more than 400 Pacific Rim clients. Attendees included Bank of the West clients, many of whom are Asian immigrant and Asian-American entrepreneurs and business owners who have operations in the United States and Asia. Attendees heard from Nandita Bakhshi, President and CEO of Bank of the West and featured a 2017 global economic outlook from the Bank's Chief Economist Scott Anderson, PhD.
"Global growth prospects look noticeably brighter in 2017," said Anderson. "Growth in China and much of Asia are being aided by 2016 global monetary easing and weaker currencies. Japan and Eurozone economic growth has accelerated recently, bolstering prospects for their economies in 2017."
Anderson expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates into 2017, adding, "Over the near-term, U.S. growth will be driven by continued healthy consumer spending gains and gradually improving business investment growth. But along with stronger U.S. growth, will come higher consumer price inflation and rising interest rates. I'm forecasting two more quarter point rate hikes in 2017 as the Fed gets more serious about normalizing short-term rates."
Nandita Bakhshi and Scott Anderson along with Yukinori Nishio, Executive Vice President and Head of the Bank's Pacific Rim Banking Division, and Mary Borg, Executive Vice President and Division Executive participated in a press event prior to the annual dinner. They were joined by other senior Bank of the West executives after the press event to meet with clients, many of whom have portfolios highly concentrated in the wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors.
Mary Borg and Yukinori Nishio discussed the importance of a dedicated Pacific Rim business in relation to its Asian communities and business associates.
"Bank of the West is strongly committed to the Asian and Asian-American clients with whom we work," said Nishio. "We continue to be honored that they place their trust in our dedicated team members to help them attain their financial goals."
Borg added, "At Bank of the West, we understand the key issues and opportunities unique to the Asian market and consider it a privilege that these successful business clients choose us to help them navigate a path to achieving their personal and business goals."
About the Pacific Rim Banking Division at Bank of the West
Through Bank of the West's Pacific Rim Banking Division, individuals and businesses are offered a full range of business, corporate, personal and international banking services by 180 specialized relationship managers who focus on servicing clients from the Pacific Rim. Through representative banking offices in Chicago and New York and corporate banking offices in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Portland, the Bank's clients, who may have operations in the United States and Asia, can access credit and deposit services – including cash management, foreign exchange, trade finance and other banking services.
To serve a growing number of U.S. subsidiaries of Asian‐based companies, Bank of the West operates representative offices in Tokyo and Taipei. In tandem with the Network Business Development Desk of BNP Paribas China which has branches in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and a representative in Chengdu – Bank of the West can personally respond to clients in both the East and the West.
About Bank of the West
Bank of the West is a regional financial services company headquartered in San Francisco with $82.6 billion in assets as of September 30, 2016. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West provides a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services through more than 600 branches and offices in 23 states and digital channels. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 75 countries with more than 189,000 employees.
To learn more about Bank of the West, visit About Us at Bank of the West.com.
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SOURCE Bank of the West
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