American Savings Bank can see the future but is still teeming with uncertainty as it prepares to be spun off from its parent company, move into a new headquarters and become publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The state’s third-largest bank, which reported Thursday a 6.4 percent drop in first-quarter earnings, said it has been filing additional documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with becoming a stand-alone operation.

But the biggest obstacles standing in the bank’s way are the necessary approvals from a May 12 shareholder vote and a decision from the state Public Utilities Commission that would give the green light to Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc.’s $4.3 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. As part of that deal, the state’s largest utility would need to spin off its American Savings Bank subsidiary.

American Savings President and CEO Rich Wacker, who said the bank is targeting mid-single-digit loan growth, hit that mark in the first quarter as loans rose 6.2 percent to $4.45 billion from $4.19 billion in year-earlier quarter.  On an annualized basis, though, loans grew just 1 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months as more newly originated mortgages were sold in the secondary markets.

American Savings’ earnings are part of HEI’s overall financials, but the bank reports its earnings separately. HEI is due to report its earnings on May 6.

The bank’s net income of $13.5 million in the first quarter was down from $14.4 million in the year-earlier period.