Miami Lakes-based BankUnited could be sold in two weeks, according to Bloomberg News. The bank has invited offers from potential buyers, with the expectation that it finalize a sale in two weeks. The bank, which had a market capitalization of $2.38 billion on Friday, could go to a number of buyers — including BB&T and TD Bank, which have been looking to expand their reach in the Sunshine State, the Sun Sentinel reported. Spokespeople for those banks declined to comment. BankUnited is being advised by Goldman Sachs as it explores potential deals. [Sun Sentinel]

North Carolina-based BB&T bank is furthering its strategic expansion into South Florida after announcing that it will buy out branch locations and assets of Ft. Lauderdale-based community bank BankAtlantic, CBS Miami reported. After an aggressive, but unsuccessful campaign to purchase assets from the Royal Bank of Canada, BB&T CEO Kelly King said the new South Florida deal is specifically designed to speed up the bank’s financial presence in Miami and Port St. Lucie. [more]

Branch Banking & Trust filed a lawsuit Oct. 4 against Coconut Creek
Johnson Road, a storage facility built by Anthony Pugliese of the
Pugliese Company. While he is not named in the complaint, he did sign
the $14.2 million mortgage two years ago as managing member of the
developer. The property, which is 71,880 square feet and
located at 5431 Johnson Road, went into default because Coconut Creek
Johnson Road owes $44,000 in property taxes for 2009. Pugliese said he didn’t
understand why the bank did not let him use the $1.8 million interest
reserve or the $600,000 reserved for tenant improvements to fund the taxes. [SFBJ]

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A recent foreclosure lawsuit against Holly Real Estate’s headquarters marks another stage in the company’s downward spiral, a collapse precipitated by massive litigation against CEO William Holly. Branch Banking & Trust filed a $3.3 million foreclosure lawsuit against Holly, his real estate company, Minnie Minorca, and business partner Robert McCammon earlier this month over the company’s 10,760-square-foot building at 370 Minorca Avenue in Coral Gables. The property was purchased in 2006 for $3.5 million. Several recent projects have been caught in the credit crunch and market collapse, triggering at least 13 lawsuits against the top executive and 2007 recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. [SFBJ]

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Miami banking consultant Ken Thomas said depositors and borrowers at
Colonial Bank will fare better under North Carolina-based BB&T,
which took over the bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed
Alabama-based Colonial and sold it to BB&T last week after a
criminal probe. It was the biggest bank failure since the September
collapse of Washington Mutual. Colonial had twice as many Florida
branches as BB&T, including 46 in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The government investigated the alleged accounting irregularities at
Colonial’s mortgage warehouse lending unit in Orlando, as well as its bid
for federal bailout funds and its accounting for loan loss reserves. [more]