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CEO John Kanas is letting rivals know in advance that he's coming to New York — and that he's targeting their employees.
February 13 -
BankUnited, the Florida bank led by John Kanas, has hired two of his former colleagues at Capital One — Joe Roberto and Kelly Sheehan — to run its nascent operation in the Big Apple.
March 19 -
A neighborhood association wants regulators to stop the company and CEO John Kanas from expanding in New York.
January 9 -
John Kanas, BankUnited's CEO, said settling with his former employer was a better option than enduring a lengthy legal battle and possible trial.
June 19
BankUnited is hoping the best way to a customer's wallet is through their stomach.
The Miami Lakes, Fla., company handed out free soft serve ice cream at its three new branches in Manhattan earlier this week. The promotion was part of a push to build the company's brand and name recognition in New York, says Mary Harris, BankUnited's senior vice president of marketing and public relations.
"The response was overwhelming," Harris says. "Crowds of people were swarming."
Some employees of the $12.2 billion-asset company handed out free metro cards for the subway, while others dressed in BankUnited blue leotards distributed promotional materials. Still, the ice cream was the most popular draw with more than 3,600 cones handed out and causing lines to form around the block, Harris says.
The promotion didn't necessarily translate into new accounts but that wasn't the point, Harris says. "This was about pure branding awareness," she says. "Everyone loves ice cream."
BankUnited rented three trucks from Mister Softee, a popular ice cream truck company in the Northeast, and covered the vehicles with a customized wrap that included the banking company's colors and logo.
John Kanas, BankUnited's chairman and chief executive, stopped by one of the locations during the event for his own vanilla cone and to chat with those waiting in line. "He is very hands on," Harris says.
BankUnited has used bold campaigns before to expand its management team. Earlier this year it used online sales pitch titled "
The company opened the three Midtown branches during the first quarter and April and a fourth in Melville, N.Y., in March. The company entered New York last year after buying Herald National Bank but its
An activist group has also
