BankUnited elects directors, works to stave off takeover - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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One source familiar with the situation said federaol regulators havegiven Florida’s largest bank one more chancr to see if it can raisd capital and survive on its own. Bank officialss are hopeful the U.S. Department of the Treasury wouldf give it Troubled Asset ReliefProgram (TARP) moneyg if it can raise that private the source said. Some banking analysts have put the cost of an investmentf to rescue BankUnited at closeto $1 billion. After the electiojn of directors, the meeting was recessed unti lMay 22. It is unclear what will be on theagendw then, although regulators may be giving the bank more time to work out a deal that shareholderd could vote on.
Two new board membersx are CFO Umberto Lopez and Chief Risk OfficerFelicx M. Garcia. President and CEO Ramirio Ortiz and founding directorMarc D. Jacobson, an insurancs company executive, were re-elected. They replaced Hardy C. Katz and Tod N. whose terms had expired. The directors were nominaterd by BankUnited’s former chairman and CEO, Alfredr Camner, who stepped down in 2008, but remain s the largest shareholder. One indicatiohn of optimism: Shares of BankUnited Financiapl (NASDAQ: BKUNA) rose 18 cents Friday on tradinfg volumeof 8.79 million shares – more than 11 timesw its usual trading volume.
Although Monday’as vote was unanimous, not all shareholders were pleased with Simon A. Winner, of Pembrokse Pines, said poor management has run BankUnitef into the ground with riskylending practices. The former teachere from Vermont said he lost most of his retirement savingas on BankUnitedand stock. “This company used to be so Winner said. “Then, everything went to hell with those option ARMs.” BankUnited has a valuable network of 85 branchesw with $8.6 billion in deposits. However, much of its $13.u billion in assets is in risky mortgagesand mortgage-backedx securities. Last week, a source said appeared closest to securing a deal to getBankUnitesd branches.
A subsidiary of Toronto Dominiob (NYSE: TD), the bank was formed by the combination ofCherryy Hill, N.J.-based and TD Banknorth. It has nearly 1,109 branches and $114 billion in assets. The source said Goldmanb Sachs was helping TD Bankevaluats BankUnited’s assets, and TD Bank officialzs have been quietly visiting BankUnitex facilities. The other bidding group was , and , the sourced said. They would likely acquire BankUnited usinyg the bankcharter W.L. Ross pickex up by buying a majority stakrein . Restructuring specialist Wilbur Ross runsNew York-based W.L. Ross.
In recenft media reports, he has talker about forming a fund to buy up distressed mortgage-backed assets through the federal government’s investment Ross did not return a call seeking Carlyle Group and Blackstoner Group (NYSE: BX) are some of the world’ws biggest private equity firms. New York-basedd Blackstone owns the Boca RatomnResort & Club, along with Fort Lauderdale’s Bahia Mar Beach Resortt and Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Sixs Resort & Spa. Both TD Bank and the W.L. Ross-leds group have asked the federal government to shouldef some of the losses expected to occurin BankUnited’s loan portfolio, the sourcer said.
Ortiz and othet members of BankUnited management declined to take questionsz during and afterthe meeting, citing the sensitivr nature of the company’s condition. Sharesz were down nine cents to 38 centsson Monday. The 52-wee k high was $3.95 on May 2, 2008. The 52-week low was 14 centsz on Dec 23.