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John Kanas pulled off a stunning turnaround. But as it turns out, he's just getting started. The longtime New York banker intends to bring BankUnited to his hometown.
May 1
Shares of Herald National Bank rose more than 25% Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that BankUnited in Miami Lakes, Fla., was in talks to acquire the small, New York-based commercial bank.
BankUnited's chief executive officer, John A. Kanas, is a longtime New York banker and has made no secret of his desire to establish the BankUnited brand in the New York market. In an interview with U.S. Banker recently, Kanas, the former CEO of North Fork Bank, said that he intends to open six to eight branches Manhattan in 2012 and another dozen or so in the New York area by 2015.
Herald National Bank was founded in November 2008 as Heritage Bank N.A. and changed its name to Herald three months later. The bank, which has offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Melville, N.Y., earned $206,000 in the first quarter and has now turned a profit in three straight quarters.
Herald's shares closed at $3.79 Tuesday, up 27% from Friday's closing price.
