FIRST HAWAIIAN, INC.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )

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Preliminary Proxy Statement

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Definitive Proxy Statement

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Definitive Additional Materials

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Soliciting Material under§240.14a-12

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Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a6(i)(1) and 0-11.

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COMPANY PROFILE

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First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ: FHB) is a bank holding company, incorporated in the State of Delaware and headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Its wholly owned bank subsidiary, First Hawaiian Bank (www.fhb.com), founded in 1858, is Hawaii’s oldest financial institution. As of December 31, 2024, FHB was the largest bank in Hawaii in terms of total assets, loans and leases and net income. The Bank has branches located throughout the State of Hawaii, Guam and Saipan, and offers a comprehensive suite of banking services to consumer and commercial customers including loans, deposit products, wealth management, insurance, trust, retirement planning, credit card and merchant processing services.

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2024 AT-A-GLANCE

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Represents a non-GAAP measure. Please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 for an explanation and reconciliation.​

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OUR PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY

CEO’S MESSAGE

TO OUR STOCKHOLDERS:

We cordially invite you to attend our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The meeting will be held via live webcast on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. Hawaiian Standard Time. You will be able to participate in the 2025 Annual Meeting online at https://web.lumiagm.com/224987645 and may submit questions and vote your shares electronically. The attached Notice of our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and proxy statement provide details on how to join the meeting and the business we plan to conduct.

Building Long-Term Value

First Hawaiian, Inc. is committed to building long-term stockholder value through its laser focus on profitability, targeted customer growth and nurturing of community relationships, along with continued execution of its technology strategy and solutions. Today our strategy is sound and working.

We delivered solid results in 2024. We hit an inflection point in the recent deposit outflows in the fourth quarter of 2024, when we were able to increase total deposits by $94.5 million, or 0.5%, while at the same time reducing public time deposits by $100.0 million, or 39%. These deposit increases reflect early returns on our technology investments and hard work by our dedicated bankers. We also exercised tight expense control, with 2024 noninterest expense amounting to $501.2 million, roughly flat compared to 2023 noninterest expense of $501.1 million. We saw a strong increase in capital, as our Tier 1 capital ratio increased to 12.80% at December 31, 2024, compared to 12.39% at December 31, 2023.

In addition, during the fourth quarter we strengthened our balance sheet and increased future earnings power by restructuring a portion of

our investment portfolio. By executing the sale of approximately $290 million of lower-yielding debt securities with proceeds reinvested in higher yielding debt securities, we will increase interest income and net interest margins over the long term. We are pleased to report this restructuring transaction had no impact on tangible equity, our credit quality remains excellent and we remain well capitalized. Our repurchase of 1.5 million shares of common stock during the fourth quarter was further evidence of our commitment to return excess capital to stockholders.

Our Purpose and Vision

Our core values of caring, character and collaboration sustain us. During the past year, our customer-focused services and products reached new experience levels as the result of our transformed digital banking functionality. The technology investments that we have been making are starting to pay dividends, as we began to realize operational efficiencies and use technology to improve our financial performance, as well as the customer experience. Online and mobile banking is paying strong dividends by giving customers better tools to manage their finances and greater convenience in doing business with us at anytime from anywhere.

The Annual Meeting

Our Board of Directors and senior officers, together with representatives from our independent registered public accounting firm, will be in attendance at the Annual Meeting to respond to your questions. We encourage you to read our 2025 Proxy Summary, our 2024 Annual Report to Stockholders and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 prior to the meeting. Complete instructions on how to vote begin on page 2. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, please complete, sign, date and return the enclosed proxy card in the envelope provided or vote telephonically

​ or electronically using the telephone or Internet voting procedures described on your proxy card at your earliest convenience. Our Board of Directors along with our leadership team value the views of our stockholders and look forward to your participation at this year’s Annual Meeting.

We are excited about our future and confident in our ability to deliver lasting value to you—our stockholders. Thank you for your continued support of First Hawaiian, Inc.

Sincerely,

Robert S. Harrison

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

March 12, 2025

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NOTICE OF 2025

ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

Notice Hereby is Given that the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of First Hawaiian, Inc. will be held:​

At the Annual Meeting, we will ask you to consider and vote upon these proposals.

This year’s Annual Meeting will be held exclusively online via live webcast on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 8:00 a.m., Hawaii Standard Time. You will be able to attend the meeting online and submit questions during the meeting. You will also be able to vote your shares electronically at the Annual Meeting.

The Proxy Statement contains important information for you to consider when deciding how to vote on the matters brought before the Annual Meeting. Please read it carefully.

WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PROXY WITH YOUR VOTING INSTRUCTIONS. YOU MAY VOTE BY TELEPHONE OR INTERNET, BY FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PROXY CARD OR BY MAIL.

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NOTICE OF 2025 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS