Investors in $12-billion-asset BankUnited, a once-failed bank in
Miami Lakes that now is the second-largest based in Florida, just sold a
sizable stake through a public offering.
ARCHIVE PHOTO / 2009
ARCHIVE PHOTO / 2009
Published: Sunday, April 28, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, April 28, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
When private investor groups began swooping into Florida to grab
failing banks during the Great Recession, some analysts worried about
the consequences.
"They were all the Wall
Street guys we had kept out of banking," said long-time Florida bank
analyst Ken Thomas. "They were the barbarians at the gate who, it was
commonly thought, would care only about their investors, not the
community."
Several years
later, though, those private equity groups have become the new power
base in Florida banking, and the institutions they control — including
FCB and BankUnited — are among the biggest based in the state.
The
groups raised billions of dollars for what became a gold rush to buy
and resurrect some of the sickest banks — including several in Southwest
Florida — through bargain-basement deals with federal regulators.
While
those banks have continued to lend money and grow amid a rebounding
economy, critics like Thomas wonder how long it will be until they
decide to cash out for good.
"Private
investors think in the short term, three to five years," Thomas said.
"When the price is right, they are going to sell out."
In
some instances, it is already happening. The big-shot investors in
$12-billion-asset BankUnited, a once-failed bank in Miami Lakes that now
is the second-largest based in Florida, just sold a sizable stake
through a public offering.
And
while the investors considered selling the bank last year, executives
say this time they are expanding the shareholder base to boosts its
buying power.
Looking to grow
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