Bank of Hawaii to open Manoa branch

Bank of Hawaii will hold an opening celebration for its new stand-alone Manoa branch on Dec.9.

The branch at 2809 East Manoa Road will hold a soft opening on Monday.

The grand-opening celebration will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It will include a balloon artist and face painting for keiki, holiday plant giveaways, live entertainment and food from local restaurants. There also will be product giveaways.

The new branch features integrated technology such as tablets and digital signage, an enclosed front lobby area with ATMs that are accessible 24 hours a day, a tomorrow center where customers can receive assistance with simple banking needs and technology demonstrations, a teller bar with an open-floor concept and special conference rooms where employees and customers can meet in more private areas.

Fed chairwoman expects more rate hikes

WASHINGTON >> Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the Fed expects to continue raising interest rates gradually. And she told lawmakers that the Fed will take care not to choke off any extra growth generated by tax cuts as long as inflation stayed tame. In likely her last appearance before Congress, Yellen received praise and appreciation from both Republicans and Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee who saluted her four-year tenure.

Facebook pledges $50M yearly to relief aid

NEW YORK >> Facebook is pledging $50 million a year to match disaster-relief donations. The pledge isn’t all new money, but represents an effort to formalize matches Facebook already has been making on an ad-hoc basis. The company also is giving relief organizations such as the Red Cross access to data on what users need and where they are.

ON THE MOVE

After-School All-Stars Hawaii has announced:

>> Kimi Takazawa is the organization’s new president and chief executive officer. Takazawa previously served as director of development and marketing for Aloha Council, Boy Scouts of America, for the past three years.

>> AJ Halagao has been named board chairman. He will lead the organization in its first strategic plan of 2018. Halagao is the director of marketing for Hawaiian Electric and also serves as executive vice president of HEI Charitable Foundation.