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BankUnited: no plans to pull out of Bay area

By MICHAEL SASSO

msasso@tampatrib.com

Published: May 27, 2009

TAMPA - BankUnited, the troubled thrift taken over by the federal government Thursday, has no immediate plans to exit the Tampa Bay area or any other specific market, a Bank- United vice president said Tuesday.

That appears to be counter to what the new chairman of BankUnited told journalists last week. John Kanas, chairman of the thrift, told Reuters last week that branches along the west coast of Florida may not fit into its "grand scheme."

Tuesday, Carlos Fernandez-Guzman, who oversees BankUnited's neighborhood banking operations, said the company did not mean to spotlight any geographic area. The thrift will review all markets for profitability, branch locations and other factors before taking action.

"There is no specific plan as far as I know for branch closures at this time," Fernandez-Guzman said.

Though it has "bank" in its name, Coral Gables-based BankUnited actually is a thrift, which is similar to a bank but has restrictions on what products it can offer.

With too little capital and a pool of loans that continued to deteriorate, the federal Office of Thrift Supervision closed BankUnited on Thursday and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver. A group of investment firms including WL Ross & Co., Carlyle Investment Management, Blackstone Capital Partners and Centerbridge Capital Partners bought BankUnited in a deal arranged by the FDIC.

All of BankUnited's 86 branches in southeast, southwest and central Florida remain open, including its four branches in the Bay area. The thrift has two branches in Clearwater, one in Tampa and one in Sun City Center. The new owners are keeping the name "BankUnited."

Most customers will not need to take any action because the new owners are assuming $12.7 billion of BankUnited's $12.8 billion in assets, which include its deposits and outstanding loans.

Customers can call the FDIC for information at 1-800-451-1093.

Though he said the company has no plans to leave any market, Fernandez-Guzman said it likely will consider closing or relocating branches that don't have amenities such as drive-up banking or attractive locations.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865.

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