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Regulators seize one of Florida's larger banks

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The Associated Press

Published: May 21, 2009

Updated: 05/21/2009 07:03 pm

Regulators have shut down a big bank in Florida saying it had a severe lack of capital and was not in condition to conduct business.

BankUnited FSB, a savings bank based in Coral Gables, was the 34th federally insured institution to be closed this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of the bank today.

With about $13 billion in assets as of May 2, it called itself the largest banking institution headquartered in Florida.

The bank has been sold to a group of investors and will operate as a newly chartered savings bank called BankUnited.

According to its Web site, the company had three branches in the Tampa area: Clearwater, Carrollwood, Sun City Center

The Office of Thrift Supervision, a Treasury Department agency, said Thursday that BankUnited FSB reported $1.2 billion in losses last year as defaults on loans piled up. The thrift "was critically undercapitalized and in an unsafe condition to conduct business," the agency said in a statement.

The new bank will assume $12.7 billion in assets and $8.3 billion of its total $8.6 billion in deposits. In addition, the FDIC and the new bank agreed to share losses on about $10.7 billion in assets.

Deposits will be insured by the FDIC, and customers can continue to use BankUnited FSB checks, ATM cards and debit cards, the FDIC said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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