WASHINGTON (AFP) — US regulators on Thursday shut down BankUnited FSB, an ailing Florida lender, in the largest American bank failure this year.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said the bank's assets had been acquired by a newly chartered federal savings bank, BankUnited.
"BankUnited, the successor institution, will be the largest independent bank in Florida, as was its predecessor (BankUnited, FSB)," FDIC said in a statement.
BankUnited's 86 offices will be open Friday during normal business hours.
Bank United FSB had assets of 12.80 billion dollars and deposits of 8.6 billion dollars as of May 2.
The new BankUnited will assume 12.7 billion dollars in assets and 8.3 billion dollars in non-brokered deposits, the statement said.
"The FDIC and BankUnited entered into a loss-share transaction and will share in the losses on approximately 10.7 billion dollars in assets covered under the agreement," it said.
The agreement is expected to "minimize disruptions" for loan customers as they will "maintain a banking relationship," it said.
BankUnited will recapitalize the institution with 900 million dollars in new capital.
BankUnited, FSB is the 34th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the United States this year, and the third in Florida. The last bank to be closed in the state was Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral on February 13.
BankUnited is the second biggest US bank failure during the current financial crisis triggered by a home mortgage meltdown, after the collapse last July of Indymac, a California mortgage bank.
The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,305 banks and savings associations.
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