Yonamine named to Sumitomo board

Paul Yonamine, chairman and CEO of Central Pacific Financial Corp. and executive chairman of its subsidiary, Central Pacific Bank, has been appointed to the board of directors of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., effective June 27 and subject to regulatory approvals in Japan.

SMBC, with assets of more than $1.8 trillion, is one of the largest financial institutions globally, and Yonamine is the only director of SMBC from outside of Japan. Prior to the merger of Sumitomo Bank and Sakura Bank, Sumitomo Bank played a key role in the startup of Central Pacific Bank by providing executive leadership until 2002. Central Pacific was founded in 1954 by nisei veterans of World War II.

Yonamine, 61, also serves as chairman of GCA Corp., the largest independent merger and acquisition advisory investment bank in Japan listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Yonamine took over as chairman and CEO of Central Pacific, the state’s fourth-largest bank, on Oct. 1. He previously served on the boards of both the parent company and subsidiary beginning in June 2017.