Union Credit sells stake to Apollo

Coral Gables-based Union Credit Bank says it has sold a majority stake to Apollo Bancshares for $15 million rather than accept federal bailout money. The bank, like many Florida financial institutions, was battered by the real estate market collapse, and its risk-based capital, an important measure of federal regulatory assessments of financial stability, had dropped to 9.6 percent, under the 10 percent threshold needed for a well-capitalized designation. Apollo, a Coral Gables bank holding company created last year to pick up distressed banking assets or start a new bank, is headed by chairman Eduardo Arriola, a son of former Miami City Manager Joe Arriola. He will take over as chairman of Union Credit’s board. [Miami Herald]