BankUnited sold to private equity

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Private equity firms have bought BankUnited, the 34th American bank to fail this year.

Private equity firms paid $900m (£568m) to rescue the bank, whose closure will cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp $4.9bn.

BankUnited, the largest bank in Florida, had about $13bn of assets and $8.6 billion of deposits.

The bank has been hit hard by the sale of risky home loans. It will open on Friday under its new management.

The buying consortium includes WL Ross & Co, Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Partners. The FDIC and the new bank will share losses on about $10.7bn in assets.

John Kanas, a banking industry veteran and former head of North Fork Bank, will manage the bank now.

Despite the recession, there is still plenty of opportunity in the state of Florida, he said.

"Florida has a very good long-term outlook, not just because of its weather, but also because of its tax policies," he told Reuters.