BankUnited, Inc. - Annual Report: 2010 (Form 10-K)

Use these links to rapidly review the document
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Table of Contents

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2010
Commission File Number: 001-35039

BankUnited, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(305) 569-2000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

         Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

         Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o    No ý

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o    No ý

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes o    No ý

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o    No o

         Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ý

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a "smaller reporting company."

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in ule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o    No ý

         The registrant closed the initial public offering of its common stock on February 2, 2011. Accordingly, as of June 30, 2010, there was no public trading market for the registrant's common stock.

         The number of outstanding shares of the registrant's common stock, $0.01 par value, as of March 23, 2011, was 97,238,307.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE: None

BANKUNITED, INC.
Form 10-K
For the Year Ended December 31, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

i

Forward-Looking Statements

        This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that reflect BankUnited, Inc.'s current views with respect to, among other things, future events and financial performance. For convenience, the terms "Company," "we," "us," and "our" are used to refer to BankUnited, Inc. and its subsidiaries unless the context otherwise requires. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements contained herein are based on the historical performance of the Company and its subsidiaries or on the Company's current plans, estimates and expectations. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company that the future plans, estimates or expectations so contemplated will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Company's operations, financial results, financial condition, business prospects, growth strategy and liquidity. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the Company's underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, the Company's actual results may vary materially from those indicated in these statements. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements.

        These forward-looking statements are based on management's current views with respect to future results, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs and assumptions made by management using currently-available information, such as market and industry materials, experts' reports and opinions, and current financial trends. These statements are only predictions and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by a forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation:

•

failure to comply with the terms of the Company's Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC;



•

geographic concentration of the Company's markets in the coastal regions of Florida which makes the Company's business highly susceptible to local economic conditions and natural disasters;



•

court backlogs and an increase in the amount of legislative action that might restrict or delay the Company's ability to foreclose on residential mortgages and hence delay the collection of payments for single family residential loans under the Loss Sharing Agreements;



•

ongoing correction in residential and commercial real estate prices and reduced levels of residential and commercial real estate sales;



•

credit risk;



•

changes in interest rates;



•

loss of executive officers or key personnel; and



•

inadequate allowance for credit losses.

        Additional factors are set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

        Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

ii

Table of Contents

PART I

Item 1.    Business

Summary

        BankUnited, Inc. is a savings and loan holding company with two wholly-owned subsidiaries: BankUnited, which we refer to as the Bank, which is one of the largest independent depository institutions headquartered in Florida by assets, and BankUnited Investment Services, Inc., which we refer to as BankUnited Investment Services, a Florida insurance agency which provides comprehensive wealth management products and financial planning services. BankUnited is a federally-chartered, federally-insured savings association headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida, with $10.9 billion of assets, more than 1,200 professionals and 81 branches in 13 counties at December 31, 2010. The Company's goal is to build a premier, large regional bank with a low-risk, long-term value-oriented business model focused on small and medium sized businesses and consumers. We endeavor to provide personalized customer service and offer a full range of traditional banking products and financial services to both our commercial and consumer customers, who are predominantly located in Florida.

        BankUnited, Inc. was organized by a management team led by our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, John A. Kanas, on April 28, 2009 and was initially capitalized with $945.0 million by a group of investors. On May 21, 2009, BankUnited was granted a savings association charter and the newly formed bank acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed all of the non-brokered deposits and substantially all other liabilities of BankUnited, FSB, or the Failed Bank, from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the FDIC, in a transaction which we refer to as the Acquisition. Concurrently with the Acquisition, we entered into two loss sharing agreements, or the Loss Sharing Agreements, which cover certain legacy assets, including the entire legacy loan portfolio and other real estate owned, or OREO, and certain purchased investment securities, including private-label mortgage-backed securities and non-investment grade securities. We refer to assets covered by the Loss Sharing Agreements as Covered Assets (or, in certain cases, Covered Loans or Covered Securities).

        Since the Bank's establishment in May 2009, we have pursued our new strategy and as part of this strategy we have recruited a new executive management team, substantially enhanced our middle management team, redesigned the Bank's underwriting functions, and have begun the process of improving the Bank's information technology systems and optimizing our existing branch network. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company was one of the most profitable and well-capitalized bank holding companies in the United States, having earned 1.7% on its average assets and 15.4% on its average common stockholder's equity, and achieved a 47.0% efficiency ratio. BankUnited's tier 1 leverage ratio was 10.3% and its tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 41.3% at December 31, 2010. We intend to invest our excess capital to grow opportunistically both organically and through acquisitions.

        Our management team is led by Mr. Kanas, a veteran of the banking industry who built North Fork Bancorporation, or North Fork, into a leading regional bank based in New York.

        On February 2, 2011, we completed the initial public offering of 33,350,000 shares of our common stock for which we received proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses, of approximately $97.6 million. We refer to this transaction as the IPO. Prior to the IPO we were a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of BU Financial Holdings LLC, or the LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and whose common equity interests are referred to herein as units. Immediately prior to the consummation of the IPO, the LLC was liquidated and all interests in us were distributed to the members of the LLC in accordance with its amended and restated limited liability company agreement dated as of May 21, 2009, or the LLC Agreement. All of the transactions necessary to effect the liquidation are collectively referred to herein as the "Reorganization."

1

Table of Contents

The Acquisition

Overview

        On May 21, 2009, BankUnited entered into a purchase and assumption agreement, or the Purchase and Assumption Agreement, with the FDIC, Receiver of the Failed Bank, to acquire substantially all of the assets and assume all of the non-brokered deposits and substantially all other liabilities of the Failed Bank. Excluding the effects of acquisition accounting adjustments, BankUnited acquired $13.6 billion of assets and assumed $12.8 billion of liabilities. The fair value of the assets acquired was $10.9 billion and the fair value of the liabilities assumed was $13.1 billion. BankUnited received a net cash consideration from the FDIC in the amount of $2.2 billion.

        The Acquisition consisted of assets with a fair value of $10.9 billion, including $5.0 billion of loans (with a corresponding unpaid principal balance, or UPB, of $11.2 billion), a $3.4 billion FDIC indemnification asset, $538.9 million of investment securities, $1.2 billion of cash and cash equivalents, $177.7 million of foreclosed assets, $243.3 million of Federal Home Loan Bank, or FHLB, stock and $347.4 million of other assets. Liabilities with a fair value of $13.1 billion were also assumed, including $8.3 billion of non-brokered deposits, $4.6 billion of FHLB advances, and $112.2 million of other liabilities.

        Concurrently with the Acquisition, the Bank entered into the Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC that cover certain legacy assets, including the entire loan portfolio and OREO, and certain purchased investment securities, including private-label mortgage-backed securities and non-investment grade securities. The Bank acquired other BankUnited, FSB assets that are not covered by the Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC including cash, certain investment securities purchased at fair market value and other tangible assets. The Loss Sharing Agreements do not apply to subsequently acquired, purchased or originated assets. At December 31, 2010, the Covered Assets consisted of assets with a book value of $3.8 billion. The total UPB (or, for investment securities, unamortized cost basis) of the Covered Assets at December 31, 2010 was $8.2 billion.

        Pursuant to the terms of the Loss Sharing Agreements, the Covered Assets are subject to a stated loss threshold whereby the FDIC will reimburse the Bank for 80% of losses up to the $4.0 billion stated threshold and 95% of losses in excess of the $4.0 billion stated threshold, calculated, in each case, based on UPB (or, for investment securities, unamortized cost basis) plus certain interest and expenses. The carrying value of the FDIC indemnification asset at December 31, 2010 was $2.7 billion. The Bank will reimburse the FDIC for its share of recoveries with respect to losses for which the FDIC paid the Bank a reimbursement under the Loss Sharing Agreements. The FDIC's obligation to reimburse the Company for losses with respect to the Covered Assets began with the first dollar of loss incurred. We have received $1.3 billion from the FDIC in reimbursements under the Loss Sharing Agreements for claims filed for losses incurred as of December 31, 2010. See Item 1 "Business—The Acquisition—Loss Sharing Agreements."

        Several elements of our Acquisition are favorable relative to other FDIC-assisted transactions and position the Company to generate significant value. At the time of the Acquisition, bank failures were on the rise and the U.S. Treasury's unprecedented Supervisory Capital Assessment Program for the largest U.S. bank holding companies was underway. Due in part to the distress in the banking system, economic uncertainty and poor capital markets conditions, the Covered Loans and OREO were purchased by the Bank in a bidding process for 76.5% of their $11.4 billion in UPB as of the Acquisition date, which represented the fair market value for those assets at that time. The discount was one of the largest relative to other FDIC-assisted transactions and reflected, in addition to the abovementioned factors, the poor quality of the assets acquired as noted by the ratio of non-performing assets to total assets of 23.5% at May 21, 2009. In addition, our bid included the granting of a warrant to the FDIC, allowing the FDIC to participate in the economic upside of the transaction if certain

2

Table of Contents

performance levels are achieved. Along with the pricing terms, the Loss Sharing Agreements and the size of the transaction enable the Company to generate significant capital even in severe loss scenarios. For example, in the worst case scenario of a 100% credit loss on all Covered Loans and OREO, we would recover no less than 89.7% of the UPB as of the Acquisition date, assuming compliance with the terms of the Loss Sharing Agreements.

        Furthermore, the Loss Sharing Agreements include attractive provisions that optimize our flexibility and reduce our risk associated with the Covered Assets, including the following:

•

Ability to sell loans.  We may sell up to 2.5% of the Covered Loans based on the UPB at Acquisition, or approximately $280.0 million, on an annual basis without prior consent of the FDIC. Any losses incurred from such loan sales are covered under the Loss Sharing Agreements.



•

No residual credit risk.  We have the right to sell any or all of the Covered Assets at the termination date of our Loss Sharing Agreements, and any losses incurred will be covered. This allows us to crystallize any residual loss that would otherwise materialize after the expiration of the Loss Sharing Agreements.



•

Certain securities covered.  Certain private-label mortgage-backed securities purchased in the Acquisition are covered under the Loss Sharing Agreements.



•

Enhanced flexibility to execute corporate strategy opportunistically.  The Bank has the ability to pursue certain strategic transactions including, after an 18-month lock-up period from the Acquisition date, the IPO.

        We view our relationship with the FDIC as a long-term partnership in which both parties are economically aligned to minimize credit losses on the Covered Assets.

Loss Sharing Agreements

        Concurrently with the Acquisition, the Bank entered into the Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC that cover certain legacy assets, including the entire loan portfolio and OREO, and certain purchased investment securities, including private-label mortgage-backed securities and non-investment grade securities. At December 31, 2010, the Covered Assets consisted of assets with a book value of $3.8 billion. The total UPB (or, for investment securities, unamortized cost basis) of the Covered Assets at December 31, 2010 was $8.2 billion. The Bank acquired other BankUnited, FSB assets that are not covered by the Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC including cash, certain investment securities purchased at fair market value and other tangible assets. The Loss Sharing Agreements do not apply to subsequently acquired, purchased or originated assets.

        Pursuant to the terms of the Loss Sharing Agreements, the Covered Assets are subject to a stated loss threshold whereby the FDIC will reimburse the Bank for 80% of losses up to the $4.0 billion stated threshold and 95% of losses in excess of the $4.0 billion stated threshold, calculated, in each case, based on UPB (or, for investment securities, unamortized cost basis) plus certain interest and expenses. The carrying value of the FDIC indemnification asset at December 31, 2010 was $2.7 billion. The Bank will reimburse the FDIC for its share of recoveries with respect to losses for which the FDIC paid the Bank a reimbursement under the Loss Sharing Agreements. The FDIC's obligation to reimburse the Company for losses with respect to the Covered Assets began with the first dollar of loss incurred.

3

Table of Contents

        The Covered Securities acquired in connection with the Acquisition include certain private-label mortgage-backed securities and non-investment grade securities. The Covered Loans acquired in connection with the Acquisition include all:

•

one-to-four family residential real estate loans (both owner occupied and investor-owned);



•

home equity loans;



•

all other loans (including commercial, commercial real estate and consumer loans);



•

funding of assumed commitments and permitted advances and permitted amendments; and



•

OREO.

        The Loss Sharing Agreements consist of a single family shared-loss agreement or the Single Family Shared-Loss Agreement, and a commercial and other loans shared-loss agreement, or the Commercial Shared-Loss Agreement. The Single Family Shared-Loss Agreement provides for FDIC loss sharing and the Bank's reimbursement for recoveries to the FDIC for ten years from May 21, 2009 for single family residential loans. The Commercial Shared-Loss Agreement provides for FDIC loss sharing for five years from May 21, 2009 and the Bank's reimbursement for recoveries to the FDIC for eight years from May 21, 2009 for all other Covered Assets.

        Under the Purchase and Assumption Agreement, the Bank may sell up to 2.5% of the Covered Loans based on the UPB at Acquisition, or approximately $280.0 million, on an annual basis without prior consent of the FDIC. Any losses incurred from such loan sale are covered under the Loss Sharing Agreements. Any loan sale in excess of the annual 2.5% of the Covered Loans requires approval from the FDIC to be eligible for loss share coverage. However, if the Bank seeks to sell residential or non-residential loans in excess of the agreed 2.5% threshold in the nine months prior to the tenth anniversary or the fifth anniversary, respectively, and the FDIC refuses to consent, then the Single Family Shared-Loss Agreement and the Commercial Shared-Loss Agreement will be extended for two years after their respective anniversaries. The terms of the Loss Sharing Agreements are extended only with respect to the loans to be included in such sales. The Bank will have the right to sell all or any portion of such loans without FDIC consent at any time within the nine months prior to the respective extended termination dates, and any losses incurred will be covered under the Loss Sharing Agreements. If exercised, this final sale mechanism ensures no residual credit risk in our Covered Loan portfolio that would otherwise arise from credit losses occurring after the five- and ten-year periods, respectively.

        The Loss Sharing Agreements require us to follow specific servicing procedures and to undertake loss mitigation efforts. Additionally, the FDIC has information rights with respect to our performance under the Loss Sharing Agreements, requiring us to maintain detailed compliance records.

        We have received $1.3 billion from the FDIC in reimbursements under the Loss Sharing Agreements for claims filed for losses incurred as of December 31, 2010.

Our Market Area

        We view our market as the southeast region of the United States with a current focus on Florida, and in particular the Miami metropolitan statistical area, or MSA. We believe Florida represents a long-term attractive banking market.

        Florida's economy and banking industry continue to face significant challenges. Since 2007, many Florida banks have experienced capital constraints and liquidity challenges as a result of significant losses from loans with poor credit quality and investments that have had sizeable decreases in value or realized losses. The undercapitalization and increased regulation of the banking sector have caused

4

Table of Contents

many banks to reduce lending to new and existing clients and focus primarily on improving their balance sheets, putting pressure on commercial borrowers to look for new banking relationships. As of December 31, 2010, 45 banks with $32.8 billion in assets have failed since 2008 in Florida. Given our competitive strengths, including an experienced management team, robust capital position and scalable platform, we believe these challenges present significant acquisition and organic growth opportunities for us.

        Over time, we will look to expand our branch network outside of Florida in selected markets such as New York, where our management team has had significant experience and has the competitive advantage of having managed one of the most successful regional banks in that market. However, for a limited period of time, certain of our executive officers are subject to non-compete agreements which may restrict them from operating in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Products and Services

Loan Origination Activities

        General.    Our primary lending focus is to serve consumers, commercial and middle-market businesses and their executives with a variety of financial products and services, while maintaining a strong and disciplined credit policy and procedures.

        We offer a full array of lending products that cater to our customers' needs including small business loans, residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate loans, equipment loans, term loans, asset-backed loans, letters of credit and commercial lines of credit. Our lending products, policies and practices are not the same as that of the BankUnited, FSB. In particular, we do not originate or purchase negatively amortizing residential loans. As part of our loan activities, we also purchase performing residential loans on a national basis.

        Concurrently with the Acquisition, nearly all lending was stopped until we developed a new lending policy which we implemented in October 2009. As of December 31, 2010, the loan portfolio includes $548.9 million in loans originated or purchased since the Acquisition. This includes $266.6 million in commercial loans, $163.6 million in commercial real estate loans and $118.8 million in residential and consumer loans. In addition, we have undrawn commitments of $149.4 million, primarily on commercial loans.

        Commercial loans.    At December 31, 2010, $213.6 million, or 38.9%, of our total new bank loan portfolio consisted of commercial loans. Our commercial loans, which are generally made to small and middle-market businesses primarily in Florida, include equipment loans, lines of credit, acquisition finance credit facilities and an array of Small Business Administration product offerings, and typically have maturities of 5 years or less.

        Commercial real estate loans.    At December 31, 2010, $163.6 million, or 29.8%, of our new bank loan portfolio consisted of commercial real estate loans. We offer term financing for the acquisition or refinancing of properties, primarily rental apartments, industrial properties, retail shopping centers and free-standing buildings, office buildings and hotels located primarily in Florida. Other products that we provide include secured lines of credit, acquisition, development and construction loan facilities and construction financing.

        Residential real estate loans.    At December 31, 2010, $113.4 million, or 20.7%, of our new bank loan portfolio consisted of both purchased ($84.5 million) and originated ($28.9 million) residential real estate loans. We have decided to purchase loans to supplement our nascent mortgage origination platform and to geographically diversify our loan portfolio given the current credit market environment of the non-agency mortgage market in Florida. While the credit parameters we use for purchased loans are substantially similar to the underwriting guidelines we use for originated loans, differences include:

5

Table of Contents

(i) loans are purchased on a nationwide basis, while originated loans are currently limited to Florida; (ii) purchased loans, on average, have a higher principal balance than originated loans; and (iii) we consider payment history in selecting which seasoned loans to purchase, while such information is not available for originated loans. We provide one-to-four family residential real estate loans with terms ranging from 10 to 40 years, with either fixed or adjustable interest rates. Loans are currently offered to customers primarily in Florida through BankUnited branches and loan officers. We do not originate subprime loans or option ARM loans. Loans are typically closed-end first lien loans for purposes of property purchased, or for refinancing existing loans with or without cashout. The majority of our loans are owner occupied, full documentation loans.

        Consumer loans.    At December 31, 2010, $5.3 million, or 1.0%, of our total new bank loan portfolio consisted of consumer loans. We offer consumer loans to our customers primarily in Florida for personal, family and household purposes, including home equity loans, auto, boat and personal installment loans.

        Lease financing.    In the fourth quarter of 2010, we acquired two leasing businesses. We now provide secured loan and lease programs for small and medium sized businesses on a national basis through United Capital Business Lending. These loans and leases are typically used for equipment purchases and upgrades, business expansion and acquisition purposes. Through Pinnacle Public Finance, we also offer tax-exempt leasing to municipalities and governmental entities nationwide for the financing of essential-use assets.

Credit Policy and Procedures

        The fundamental principles of the Bank's credit policy and procedures are to maintain high quality credit standards, which enhance the long term value of the Bank to its customers, employees, stockholders and communities. Credit quality is a key corporate objective that is managed in concert with other key objectives including volume growth, earnings and expense management. We recognize that our credit policy and procedures are dynamic and responsive to the market place. It is the foundation of our credit culture.

        The Board of Directors of the Bank is responsible for the safety and soundness of the Bank. As such, they are charged to monitor the efforts of the Bank's management activities. Since lending represents risk exposure, our Board and its duly appointed committees seek to ensure that the Bank maintains high credit quality standards.

        The Bank has established asset oversight committees to administer the loan portfolio. These committees include: (i) the Enterprise Risk Management Committee; (ii) the Credit Risk Management Committee; (iii) the Asset Recovery Committee; and (iv) the Criticized Asset Committee. These committees meet at least quarterly to review and approve the lending activities of the Bank.

        The credit approval process at the Bank provides for the prompt and thorough underwriting and approval or decline of loan requests. The approval method used is a hierarchy of individual lending authorities for new credits and renewals. The Credit Risk Management Committee approves loan authorities for lending and credit personnel, which are ultimately submitted to our Board for ratification. Lending authorities are based on position, capability and experience of the individuals filling these positions. Authorities are periodically reviewed and updated.

        The Bank has established in-house borrower lending limits which are significantly lower than its legal lending limit of approximately $169.1 million, at December 31, 2010. The present in-house lending limit is set at $25.0 million based on total credit exposure of a borrower. However, exceptions to this limit may be made up to $40.0 million of total credit exposure if approved by the Chief Lending

6

Table of Contents

Officer and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. These limits are reviewed periodically by the Credit Risk Management Committee and approved annually by our Board.

Deposits

        We offer traditional depository products including checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit with a variety of rates. Our deposits are insured by the FDIC up to statutory limits. At December 31, 2010, the balance of our interest bearing deposits was $6.7 billion, representing 93.1% of our total deposits, and the balance of our non-interest bearing deposits was $494.5 million, representing 6.9% of our total deposits. Our strategy is to increase our mix of core deposits and reduce our time deposits portfolio. We have a service fee schedule, which is competitive with other financial institutions in our market, covering such matters as maintenance fees on checking accounts, per item processing fees on checking accounts, returned check charges and similar fees.

Wealth Management

        Through dedicated financial consultants and licensed bankers, BankUnited Investment Services provides a comprehensive wealth management product offering that includes mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, and individual securities. We also provide comprehensive succession planning, estate planning, and financial planning to individuals and business owners. We use a third-party financial services company to provide our trading platform, administrative and back office support, and provide our customers with 24-hour access to account balances and summaries, positions and portfolio views, transaction detail, customized portfolio view, and online statements.

Investments

        The primary objectives of our investment policy are to provide liquidity necessary for the day-to-day operations of the Company, provide a suitable balance of high credit and diversified quality assets to the consolidated balance sheet, manage interest rate risk exposure, and generate acceptable returns given the Company's established risk parameters.

        The investment policy is reviewed annually by our Board of Directors. Overall investment goals are established by our Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and members of ALCO. The Board has delegated the responsibility of monitoring our investment activities to ALCO. Day-to-day activities pertaining to the investment portfolio are conducted within the Company's Treasury Division under the supervision of the Chief Financial Officer.

        As part of the Acquisition, we acquired an investment portfolio with a fair value of $538.9 million. Of these assets, $252.9 million consisted of private-label mortgage-backed securities and corporate securities which are covered by the Commercial Shared-Loss Agreement. The remaining $286.0 million consisted of Treasury securities, municipal securities and mortgage-backed securities issued by the U.S. Government agency and sponsored enterprises, and are not covered by the Loss Sharing Agreements.

        Our strategy for investment security purchases since the Acquisition has been to achieve the objectives noted above, with an emphasis on managing interest rate risk exposure and maintaining liquidity in the portfolio.

Marketing and Distribution

        We conduct our banking business through 81 branches located in 13 coastal counties throughout Florida as of December 31, 2010. Our distribution network also includes 75 ATMs, fully integrated on-line banking, and a telephone banking service. We target growing companies and commercial and middle-market businesses, as well as individual consumers throughout Florida.

7

Table of Contents

        In order to market our deposit products, we use local print advertising and direct mail and provide sales incentives for our employees.

Competition

        The primary market we serve is Florida. Our market is highly competitive. Our market contains not only a large number of community and regional banks, but also a significant presence of the country's largest commercial banks. We compete with other state and national financial institutions located in Florida and adjoining states as well as savings associations, savings banks and credit unions for deposits and loans. In addition, we compete with financial intermediaries, such as consumer finance companies, mortgage banking companies, insurance companies, securities firms, mutual funds and several government agencies as well as major retailers, all actively engaged in providing various types of loans and other financial services. Our largest banking competitors in our market include Bank of America, BankAtlantic, BB&T, JPMorgan Chase, Regions Bank, SunTrust Banks, TD Bank and Wells Fargo.

        Interest rates, both on loans and deposits, and prices of fee-based services are significant competitive factors among financial institutions generally. Other important competitive factors include office location, office hours, quality of customer service, community reputation, continuity of personnel and services, and, in the case of larger commercial customers, relative lending limits and ability to offer sophisticated cash management and other commercial banking services. While we continue to provide competitive interest rates on both depository and lending products, we believe that we can compete most successfully by focusing on the financial needs of growing companies and their executives, consumers and commercial and middle-market businesses, and offering them a broad range of personalized services and sophisticated cash management tools tailored to their businesses. We also believe that further volatility and consolidation in the banking industry would create additional opportunities for us to enhance our competitive position.

Information Technology Systems

Information Technology and Bank Operations

        We have recently made and continue to make significant investments in our information technology systems for our banking and lending operations and cash management activities. We believe this is a necessary investment in order to enhance our capabilities to offer new products and overall customer experience, and to provide scale for future growth and acquisitions. Critical enhancements include the consolidation of all residential servicing to a leading servicing platform, upgrading our general ledger system, selecting an automated anti-money laundering software solution and enhancing other ancillary systems. We are also in the process of converting our core deposit banking system to more effectively automate bank transactions for our branches, improve our commercial and consumer loan origination, electronic banking and direct response marketing processes, as well as enhance cash management, streamlined reporting, reconciliation support, and sales support.

        The majority of our systems including our EFT, transaction processing and our online banking services are hosted by third-party service providers. Additionally, we rely on a leading third-party provider to provide a comprehensive, fully integrated solution that gives us the ability to automate areas of our residential loan servicing, including loan set-up and maintenance, customer service, cashiering, escrow administration, investor accounting, default management, corporate accounting and federal regulatory reporting. The scalability of this new infrastructure will support our growth strategy. In addition, the capability of these vendors to automatically switch over to standby systems allows us to recover our systems and provide business continuity very quickly in case of a disaster.

8

Table of Contents

Loan Servicing

        Substantially all of our loans are serviced by us. Since the Acquisition, we have invested heavily in our loan servicing platform to ensure we are taking best efforts in minimizing losses on the Covered Loans. Additionally, we have been an active participant in HAMP since 2009, which focuses on helping at-risk homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing payments through interest rate reduction, term extension, principal forbearance and principal forgiveness. As of December 31, 2010, 8,373 borrowers have been counseled regarding their participation in HAMP, resulting in 2,234 permanent loan modifications and 198 active trial modifications.

Regulation and Supervision

        The U.S. banking industry is highly regulated under federal and state law. These regulations affect the operations of the Company and its subsidiaries.

        Statutes, regulations and policies limit the activities in which we may engage and the conduct of our permitted activities. Further, the regulatory system imposes reporting and information collection obligations. We incur significant costs relating to compliance with these laws and regulations. Banking statutes, regulations and policies are continually under review by federal and state legislatures and regulatory agencies, and a change in them, including changes in how they are interpreted or implemented, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

        The material statutory and regulatory requirements that are applicable to us are summarized below. The description below is not intended to summarize all laws and regulations applicable to us.

BankUnited as a Federal Savings Association

        BankUnited is a federal savings association organized under the federal Home Owners' Loan Act, or HOLA. A federal savings association is commonly referred to as a federal thrift. As a federal thrift, BankUnited is currently subject to ongoing and comprehensive supervision, regulation, examination and enforcement by the Office of Thrift Supervision, or OTS. Recent changes in the law will, in the future, shift principal regulatory jurisdiction over BankUnited from the OTS to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or the OCC. We are in the process of evaluating the potential practical implications of this shift in regulatory jurisdiction, such as possible changes in how the Bank's regulators will examine it and what new or different standards they may apply to the Bank. To date, the Bank's regulators have not announced any details about their plans for the shift in regulatory jurisdiction, except a statement indicated that federal thrifts will be subject to reporting requirements traditionally applicable to banks and consequently, we are not in a position at this time to know or ascertain what the actual practical implications of the shift will be for the Bank, because BankUnited does not have plans to convert to a national bank, the existing OTS regulations will continue to apply to BankUnited, although the OCC may decide to modify these regulations.

The Company as a Savings and Loan Holding Company

        Any entity that acquires direct or indirect control of a thrift must obtain prior approval of the OTS to become a savings and loan holding company, or SLHC. The Company, which controls BankUnited, received OTS approval on May 21, 2009, to become a SLHC. As a SLHC, the Company is currently subject to ongoing and comprehensive supervision, regulation, examination and enforcement by the OTS. This OTS jurisdiction also extends to any company that is directly or indirectly controlled by us. Recent changes in the law will, in the future, shift principal regulatory jurisdiction over the Company to the Federal Reserve. We are in the process of evaluating the potential practical implications of this shift in regulatory jurisdiction, such as possible changes in how the Company's regulators will examine

9

Table of Contents

it and what new or different standards they may apply to the Company; however, as a result of this shift, we expect that BankUnited, Inc. will be subject to specific minimum capital ratios for the first time as well as being required to serve as a source of strength for the Bank. To date, the Company's regulators have not announced any details about their plans for the shift in regulatory jurisdiction, except a statement indicating that SLHC's will be subject to reporting requirements traditionally applicable to bank holding companies and, consequently, we are not in a position at this time to know or ascertain what the actual practical implications of the shift will be.

FDIC Deposit Insurance

        The FDIC is an independent federal agency that insures the deposits of federally insured depository institutions up to applicable limits. The FDIC also has certain regulatory, examination and enforcement powers with respect to FDIC-insured institutions. The deposits of BankUnited are insured by the FDIC up to applicable limits. As a general matter, the maximum deposit insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor.

Broad Supervision, Examination and Enforcement Powers

        A principal objective of the U.S. bank regulatory system is to protect depositors by ensuring the financial safety and soundness of banks. To that end, the banking regulators have broad regulatory, examination, and enforcement authority. The regulators regularly examine the operations of federal thrifts and SLHCs. In addition, federal thrifts and SLHCs are subject to periodic reporting requirements.

        The regulators have various remedies available if they determine that the financial condition, capital resources, asset quality, earnings prospects, management, liquidity or other aspects of a banking organization's operations are unsatisfactory. The regulators may also take action if they determine that the banking organization or its management is violating or has violated any law or regulation. The regulators have the power to, among other things:

•

enjoin "unsafe or unsound" practices;



•

require affirmative actions to correct any violation or practice;



•

issue administrative orders that can be judicially enforced;



•

direct increases in capital;



•

direct the sale of subsidiaries or other assets;



•

limit dividends and distributions;



•

restrict growth;



•

assess civil monetary penalties;



•

remove officers and directors; and



•

terminate deposit insurance.

        The FDIC may terminate a depository institution's deposit insurance upon a finding that the institution's financial condition is unsafe or unsound or that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices or has violated any applicable rule, regulation, order or condition enacted or imposed by the institution's regulatory agency. Engaging in unsafe or unsound practices or failing to comply with applicable laws, regulations and supervisory agreements could subject the Company, and

10

Table of Contents

subsidiaries of the Company, or their officers, directors, and institution-affiliated parties to the remedies described above and other sanctions.

Conditions of Approval Orders

        On May 21, 2009, we received approvals from the OTS and FDIC for the organization of BankUnited as a federal thrift, for the Company to become a SLHC, and for BankUnited to obtain federal deposit insurance. Those approval orders contained conditions related to the conduct of our business. Those conditions include, among other things, the following requirements:

•

during our first three years of operation, BankUnited must maintain a tier 1 capital to adjusted total assets leverage ratio at not less than eight percent;



•

during our first three years of operation, we must operate within the parameters of our business plan and obtain prior written regulatory consent to any material change in our business plan; and



•

during our first two years of operation, we must obtain regulatory consent to the appointment of any new director or senior executive officer.

The Dodd-Frank Act

        On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Dodd-Frank Act, into law. The Dodd-Frank Act will have a broad impact on the financial services industry, imposing significant regulatory and compliance changes, including the designation of certain financial companies as systemically significant, the imposition of increased capital, leverage, and liquidity requirements, and numerous other provisions designed to improve supervision and oversight of, and strengthen safety and soundness within, the financial services sector. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act establishes a new framework of authority to conduct systemic risk oversight within the financial system to be distributed among new and existing federal regulatory agencies, including the Financial Stability Oversight Council, or Council, the Federal Reserve, the OCC, and the FDIC. Of particular relevance to the Company, the Dodd-Frank Act makes fundamental changes to the federal supervisory oversight structure for federal thrifts and SLHCs.

        The following items provide a brief description of certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

•

Principal changes for federal thrifts and SLHCs.  The Dodd-Frank Act preserves the charter for federal thrifts, but will eliminate the OTS as the primary federal regulator for federal thrifts and SLHCs. The OTS will be abolished by January 2012 and its functions and personnel distributed among the OCC, FDIC, and the Federal Reserve. Primary jurisdiction for the supervision and regulation of federal thrifts, including BankUnited, will be transferred to the OCC; supervision and regulation of SLHCs, including the Company, will be transferred to the Federal Reserve. Although the Dodd-Frank Act maintains the federal thrift charter, it eliminates certain benefits of the charter and imposes new penalties for failure to comply with the qualified thrift lender, or QTL, test. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the risk-based and leverage capital standards currently applicable to U.S. insured depository institutions will be imposed on U.S. bank holding companies and SLHCs, and depository institutions and their holding companies will be subject to minimum risk-based and leverage capital requirements on a consolidated basis. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act requires that SLHCs be well-capitalized and well managed in the same manner as bank holding companies in order to engage in the expanded financial activities permissible only for a financial holding company.

11

Table of Contents

•

Source of strength.  The Dodd-Frank Act requires all companies, including SLHCs, that directly or indirectly control an insured depository institution to serve as a source of strength for the institution. Under this requirement, the Company in the future could be required to provide financial assistance to BankUnited should BankUnited experience financial distress.



•

Limitation on federal preemption.  The Dodd-Frank Act significantly reduces the ability of national banks and federal thrifts to rely upon federal preemption of state consumer financial laws. Although the OCC, as the new primary regulator of federal thrifts, will have the ability to make preemption determinations where certain conditions are met, the broad rollback of federal preemption has the potential to create a patchwork of federal and state compliance obligations. This could, in turn, result in significant new regulatory requirements applicable to us, with potentially significant changes in our operations and increases in our compliance costs. It could also result in uncertainty concerning compliance, with attendant regulatory and litigation risks.



•

Mortgage loan origination and risk retention.  The Dodd-Frank Act contains additional regulatory requirements that may affect our operations and result in increased compliance costs. For example, the Dodd-Frank Act imposes new standards for mortgage loan originations on all lenders, including banks and thrifts, in an effort to require steps to verify a borrower's ability to repay. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act generally requires lenders or securitizers to retain an economic interest in the credit risk relating to loans the lender sells or mortgage and other asset-backed securities that the securitizer issues. The risk retention requirement generally will be 5%, but could be increased or decreased by regulation.



•

Imposition of restrictions on certain activities.  The Dodd-Frank Act requires new regulations for the over-the-counter derivatives market, including requirements for clearing, exchange trading, capital, margin, and reporting. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act requires that certain swaps and derivatives activities be "pushed out" of insured depository institutions and conducted in non-bank affiliates, significantly restricts the ability of a member of a depository institution holding company group to invest in or sponsor certain private funds, and broadly restricts such entities from engaging in "proprietary trading," subject to limited exemptions. These restrictions may affect our ability to manage certain risks in our business.



•

Expanded FDIC resolution authority.  While insured depository institutions have long been subject to the FDIC's resolution process, the Dodd-Frank Act creates a new mechanism for the FDIC to conduct the orderly liquidation of certain "covered financial companies," including bank and thrift holding companies and systemically significant non-bank financial companies. Upon certain findings being made, the FDIC may be appointed receiver for a covered financial company, and would be tasked to conduct an orderly liquidation of the entity. The FDIC liquidation process is modeled on the existing Federal Deposit Insurance Act, or FDI Act, bank resolution regulations, and generally gives the FDIC more discretion than in the traditional bankruptcy context.



•

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  The Dodd-Frank Act creates a new independent CFPB within the Federal Reserve. The CFPB is tasked with establishing and implementing rules and regulations under certain federal consumer protection laws with respect to the conduct of providers of certain consumer financial products and services. The CFPB has rulemaking authority over many of the statutes governing products and services offered to bank and thrift consumers. For banking organizations with assets of $10 billion or more, the CFPB has exclusive rule making and examination, and primary enforcement authority under federal consumer financial law. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act permits states to adopt consumer protection laws and regulations that are stricter than those regulations promulgated by the CFPB. Compliance with any such new regulations would increase our cost of operations.

12

Table of Contents

•

Deposit insurance.  The Dodd-Frank Act makes permanent the general $250,000 deposit insurance limit for insured deposits. The Dodd-Frank Act also extends until January 1, 2013, federal deposit coverage for the full net amount held by depositors in non-interest bearing transaction accounts. Amendments to the FDI Act also revise the assessment base against which an insured depository institution's deposit insurance premiums paid to the deposit insurance fund, or DIF, of the FDIC will be calculated. Under the amendments, the assessment base will no longer be the institution's deposit base, but rather its average consolidated total assets less its average tangible equity. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act makes changes to the minimum designated reserve ratio of the DIF, increasing the minimum from 1.15 percent to 1.35 percent of the estimated amount of total insured deposits, and eliminating the requirement that the FDIC pay dividends to depository institutions when the reserve ratio exceeds certain thresholds. Several of these provisions could increase the FDIC deposit insurance premiums paid by BankUnited.



•

Transactions with affiliates and insiders.  The Dodd-Frank Act generally enhances the restrictions on transactions with affiliates under Section 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, including an expansion of the definition of "covered transactions" and an increase in the amount of time for which collateral requirements regarding covered credit transactions must be satisfied. Insider transaction limitations are expanded through the strengthening of loan restrictions to insiders and the expansion of the types of transactions subject to the various limits, including derivatives transactions, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements and securities lending or borrowing transactions. Restrictions are also placed on certain asset sales to and from an insider to an institution, including requirements that such sales be on market terms and, in certain circumstances, approved by the institution's board of directors.



•

Enhanced lending limits.  The Dodd-Frank Act strengthens the existing limits on a depository institution's credit exposure to one borrower. Federal banking law currently limits a federal thrift's ability to extend credit to one person (or group of related persons) in an amount exceeding certain thresholds. The Dodd-Frank Act expands the scope of these restrictions to include credit exposure arising from derivative transactions, repurchase agreements, and securities lending and borrowing transactions.



•

Corporate governance.  The Dodd-Frank Act addresses many investor protection, corporate governance and executive compensation matters that will affect most U.S. publicly traded companies, including the Company. The Dodd-Frank Act (1) grants stockholders of U.S. publicly traded companies an advisory vote on executive compensation; (2) enhances independence requirements for compensation committee members; (3) requires companies listed on national securities exchanges to adopt incentive-based compensation clawback policies for executive officers; and (4) provides the SEC with authority to adopt proxy access rules that would allow stockholders of publicly traded companies to nominate candidates for election as a director and have those nominees included in a company's proxy materials.

        Many of the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act will be implemented over time and most will be subject to regulations implemented over the course of several years. Given the uncertainty associated with the manner in which the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act will be implemented by the various regulatory agencies and through regulations, the full extent of the impact such requirements will have on our operations is unclear. The changes resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act may impact the profitability of our business activities, require changes to certain of our business practices, impose upon us more stringent capital, liquidity and leverage requirements or otherwise adversely affect our business. These changes may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make any changes necessary to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements.

13

Table of Contents

Failure to comply with the new requirements may negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition.

Notice and Approval Requirements Related to Control

        Banking laws impose notice, approval, and ongoing regulatory requirements on any stockholder or other party that seeks to acquire direct or indirect "control" of an FDIC-insured depository institution. These laws include the Savings and Loan Holding Company Act, the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and the Change in Bank Control Act. Among other things, these laws require regulatory filings by a stockholder or other party that seeks to acquire direct or indirect "control" of an FDIC-insured depository institution. The determination whether an investor "controls" a depository institution is based on all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the investment. As a general matter, a party is deemed to control a depository institution or other company if the party owns or controls 25% or more of any class of voting stock. Subject to rebuttal, a party may be presumed to control a depository institution or other company if the investor owns or controls 10% or more of any class of voting stock. Ownership by affiliated parties, or parties acting in concert, is typically aggregated for these purposes. If a party's ownership of the Company were to exceed certain thresholds, the investor could be deemed to "control" the Company for regulatory purposes. This could subject the investor to regulatory filings or other regulatory consequences.

Permissible Activities and Investments

        Banking laws generally restrict the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries from engaging in activities other than those determined by the Federal Reserve to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999, or GLB Act, expanded the scope of permissible activities for a bank holding company that qualifies as a financial holding company. Under the regulations implementing the GLB Act, a financial holding company may engage in additional activities that are financial in nature or incidental or complementary to a financial activity. Those activities include, among other activities, certain insurance and securities activities. Qualifications for becoming a financial holding company include, among other things, meeting certain specified capital standards and achieving certain management ratings in examinations. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, SLHCs like the Company must be well-capitalized and well managed in the same manner as bank holding companies in order to engage in the expanded financial activities permissible only for a financial holding company.

        In addition, as a general matter, the establishment or acquisition by the Company of a depository institution or, in certain cases, a non-banking financing entity, requires prior regulatory approval.

Regulatory Capital Requirements and Prompt Corrective Action

        The regulators view capital levels as important indicators of an institution's financial soundness. As a general matter, FDIC-insured depository institutions and their holding companies are required to maintain minimum capital relative to the amount and types of assets they hold. The final supervisory judgment on an institution's capital adequacy is based on the regulator's individualized assessment of numerous factors.

        BankUnited is subject to various regulatory capital adequacy requirements. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act, or FDICIA, requires that the federal regulatory agencies adopt regulations defining five capital tiers for depository institutions: well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory, and possibly additional discretionary, actions by regulators that could have a direct material adverse effect on our financial condition.

14

Table of Contents

        The regulators have established quantitative measures that require that an FDIC-insured depository institution (such as BankUnited) to maintain minimum ratios of capital to risk-weighted assets. There are two main categories of capital under the guidelines. Tier 1 capital includes common equity holders' equity, qualifying preferred stock and trust preferred securities, less goodwill and certain other deductions (including a portion of servicing assets and the unrealized net gains and losses, after taxes, on securities available for sale). Tier 2 capital includes preferred stock not qualifying as tier 1 capital, subordinated debt, the allowance for credit losses and net unrealized gains on marketable equity securities, subject to limitations by the guidelines. Tier 2 capital is limited to the amount of tier 1 capital (i.e., at least half of the total capital must be in the form of tier 1 capital). Under the risk-based guidelines, capital is compared with the relative risk related to the balance sheet. To derive the risk included in the balance sheet, a risk weighting is applied to each balance sheet asset and off-balance sheet item, primarily based on the relative credit risk of the counterparty. For example, claims guaranteed by the U.S. government or one of its agencies are risk-weighted at 0% and certain real-estate related loans risk-weighted at 50%. Off-balance sheet items, such as loan commitments and derivatives, are also applied a risk weight after calculating balance sheet equivalent amounts.

        In order to be deemed well-capitalized, FDIC-insured depository institutions (such as BankUnited) currently are required to (i) maintain a total risk-based capital ratio of 10% or greater, a tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6% or greater and a tier 1 leverage ratio of 5% or greater (measured as tier 1 capital to adjusted total assets) and (ii) not be subject to any written agreement, order, capital directive or prompt corrective action issued by its banking regulator(s) to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure. The regulators may set higher capital requirements for an individual institution when particular circumstances warrant. The OTS requires BankUnited to maintain a tier 1 capital to adjusted total assets leverage ratio of not less than 8% for the first three years of its operation. At December 31, 2010, the Bank's tier 1 leverage ratio was equal to 10.3%.

        By January 2012, the OCC will assume the OTS' powers with respect to federal savings associations (like BankUnited), as well as rulemaking authority over all savings associations (except for the limited rulemaking authority transferred to the Federal Reserve). Although the federal banking agencies have substantially similar capital adequacy standards and utilize the same accounting standards, some differences in capital standards exist, such as the regulatory treatment of noncumulative perpetual preferred stock and the risk-weightings assigned to certain assets. The OCC also limits the amount of subordinated debt and intermediate-term preferred stock that may be treated as part of tier 2 capital to 50% of tier 1 capital, whereas the OTS does not prescribe such a restriction. Finally, the OCC recognizes an additional category, "tier 3 capital," consisting of forms of unsecured, subordinated debt that can be allocated for market risk and is included in the total risk-based capital ratio numerator.

        At this time the bank regulatory agencies are more inclined to impose higher capital requirements in order to meet well-capitalized standards, and future regulatory change could impose higher capital standards as a routine matter. The regulators may also set higher capital requirements for holding companies whose circumstances warrant it. For example, holding companies experiencing internal growth or making acquisitions are expected to maintain strong capital positions substantially above the minimum supervisory levels, without significant reliance on intangible assets.

        As an additional means to identify problems in the financial management of depository institutions, the FDI Act requires federal bank regulatory agencies to establish certain non-capital safety and soundness standards for institutions for which they are the primary federal regulator. The standards relate generally to operations and management, asset quality, interest rate exposure and executive compensation. The agencies are authorized to take action against institutions that fail to meet such standards.

15

Table of Contents

        OTS regulations do not require savings and loan holding companies, such as the Company, to maintain specific minimum capital ratios. As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, the risk-based and leverage capital standards currently applicable to U.S. insured depository institutions and U.S. bank holding companies will in the future become applicable to savings and loan holding companies (such as the Company). The Dodd-Frank Act generally authorizes the Federal Reserve to promulgate capital requirements for savings and loan holding companies.

        The Federal Reserve requires bank holding companies to maintain a minimum tier 1 leverage ratio, tier 1 risk-based capital ratio and total risk-based capital ratio. In addition, the Federal Reserve requires bank holding companies that engage in trading activities to adjust their risk-based capital ratios to take into consideration market risks that may result from movements in market prices of covered trading positions in trading accounts, or from foreign exchange or commodity positions, whether or not in trading accounts, including changes in interest rates, equity prices, foreign exchange rates or commodity prices. Any capital required to be maintained under these provisions may consist of tier 3 capital. Also, the Federal Reserve considers a "tangible tier 1 leverage ratio" (deducting all intangibles) and other indications of capital strength in evaluating proposals for expansion or engaging in new activities.

        In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act further requires the federal banking agencies to adopt capital requirements which address the risks that the activities of an institution poses to the institution and the public and private stakeholders, including risks arising from certain enumerated activities. The federal banking agencies will likely change existing capital guidelines or adopt new capital guidelines in the future pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the implementation of Basel III (described below) or other regulatory or supervisory changes.

        The FDI Act requires federal bank regulatory agencies to take "prompt corrective action" with respect to FDIC-insured depository institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. A depository institution's treatment for purposes of the prompt corrective action provisions will depend upon how its capital levels compare to various capital measures and certain other factors, as established by regulation. Under this system, the federal banking regulators have established five capital categories, well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized, in which all institutions are placed. The federal banking regulators have also specified by regulation the relevant capital levels for each of the other categories. Federal banking regulators are required to take various mandatory supervisory actions and are authorized to take other discretionary actions with respect to institutions in the three undercapitalized categories. The severity of the action depends upon the capital category in which the institution is placed. Generally, subject to a narrow exception, the banking regulator must appoint a receiver or conservator for an institution that is critically undercapitalized.

Basel, Basel II and Basel III Accords

        The current risk-based capital guidelines that apply to the Bank are based on the 1988 capital accord of the International Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a committee of central banks and bank supervisors, as implemented by the OTS. In 2008, the OTS began to phase-in capital standards based on a second capital accord, referred to as Basel II, for large or "core" international banks (total assets of $250 billion or more or consolidated foreign exposures of $10 billion or more). Basel II emphasizes internal assessment of credit, market and operational risk, as well as supervisory assessment and market discipline in determining minimum capital requirements.

        On September 12, 2010, the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision, the oversight body of the Basel Committee, announced agreement on the calibration and phase-in arrangements for a strengthened set of capital requirements, known as Basel III. Basel III increases the minimum tier 1 common equity ratio to 4.5%, net of regulatory deductions, and introduces a capital conservation buffer

16

Table of Contents

of an additional 2.5% of common equity to risk-weighted assets, raising the target minimum common equity ratio to 7%. Basel III increases the minimum tier 1 capital ratio to 8.5% inclusive of the capital conservation buffer, increases the minimum total capital ratio to 10.5% inclusive of the capital buffer and introduces a countercyclical capital buffer of up to 2.5% of common equity or other fully loss absorbing capital for periods of excess credit growth. Basel III also introduces a non-risk adjusted tier 1 leverage ratio of 3%, based on a measure of total exposure rather than total assets, and new liquidity standards. The Basel III capital and liquidity standards will be phased in over a multi-year period. The final package of Basel III reforms was submitted to and endorsed by the Seoul G20 Leaders Summit in November, 2010. On December 16, 2010, the Basel Committee issued the text of the Basel III rules, which are now subject to individual adoption by member nations, including the United States. The federal banking agencies will likely implement changes to the capital adequacy standards applicable to the insured depository institutions and their holding companies in light of Basel III.

Qualified Thrift Lender Test

        Federal banking laws require a thrift to meet the QTL test by maintaining at least 65% of its "portfolio assets" in certain "qualified thrift investments," such as residential housing related loans, certain consumer and small business loans and residential mortgage-backed securities, on a monthly average basis in at least nine months out of every twelve months. A thrift that fails the QTL test must either operate under certain restrictions on its activities or convert to a bank charter. The Dodd-Frank Act imposes additional restrictions on the ability of any thrift that fails to become or remain a QTL to pay dividends. Specifically, the thrift is not only subject to the general dividend restrictions as would apply to a national bank (as under prior law), but also is prohibited from paying dividends at all (regardless of its financial condition) unless required to meet the obligations of a company that controls the thrift, permissible for a national bank and specifically approved by the OCC and the Federal Reserve. In addition, violations of the QTL test now are treated as violations of federal banking laws subject to remedial enforcement action. At December 31, 2010, BankUnited was in compliance with the QTL test.

        HOLA limits the amount of non-residential mortgage loans a federal savings association, such as BankUnited, may make. Separate from the QTL test, the law limits a federal savings association to a maximum of 20% of its total assets in commercial loans not secured by real estate, however, only 10% can be large commercial loans not secured by real estate (defined as loans in excess of $2 million). Commercial loans secured by real estate can be made in an amount up to four times an institution's total capital. An institution can also have leases, in addition to the above items, up to 10% of its assets. Commercial paper, corporate bonds, and consumer loans taken together cannot exceed 35% of a savings association's assets. For this purpose, however, residential mortgage loans and credit card loans are not considered consumer loans, and are both unlimited in amount. The foregoing limitations are established by statute, and cannot be waived by the OTS. At December 31, 2010, BankUnited was in compliance with all these limits.

Regulatory Limits on Dividends and Distributions

        Federal law currently imposes limitations upon certain capital distributions by thrifts, such as certain cash dividends, payments to repurchase or otherwise acquire its shares, payments to stockholders of another institution in a cash-out merger and other distributions charged against capital. The OTS regulates all capital distributions by BankUnited directly or indirectly to us, including dividend payments. BankUnited currently must file an application to receive the approval of the OTS for any proposed capital distribution.

        BankUnited may not pay dividends to us if, after paying those dividends, it would fail to meet the required minimum levels under risk-based capital guidelines and the minimum leverage and tangible capital ratio requirements, or in the event the OTS notified BankUnited that it was in need of more

17

Table of Contents

than normal supervision. Under the FDI Act, an insured depository institution such as BankUnited is prohibited from making capital distributions, including the payment of dividends, if, after making such distribution, the institution would become "undercapitalized." Payment of dividends by BankUnited also may be restricted at any time at the discretion of the appropriate regulator if it deems the payment to constitute an unsafe and unsound banking practice. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act imposes additional restrictions on the ability of any thrift that fails to become or remain a QTL to pay dividends.

Reserve Requirements

        Pursuant to regulations of the Federal Reserve, all banks and thrifts are required to maintain average daily reserves at mandated ratios against their transaction accounts. In addition, reserves must be maintained on certain non-personal time deposits. These reserves must be maintained in the form of vault cash or in an account at a Federal Reserve Bank.

Limits on Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders

        Banks and thrifts are subject to restrictions on their ability to conduct transactions with affiliates and other related parties. Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act imposes quantitative limits, qualitative requirements, and collateral requirements on certain transactions by a bank or thrift with, or for the benefit of, its affiliates. Transactions covered by Section 23A include loans, extensions of credit, investment in securities issued by an affiliate, and acquisitions of assets from an affiliate. Section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act requires that most types of transactions by a bank or thrift with, or for the benefit or, an affiliate be on terms at least as favorable to the bank or thrift as if the transaction were conducted with an unaffiliated third party.

        The Dodd-Frank Act generally enhances the restrictions on transactions with affiliates under Section 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, including an expansion of the definition of "covered transactions" and an increase in the amount of time for which collateral requirements regarding covered credit transactions must be satisfied. The ability of the Federal Reserve to grant exemptions from these restrictions is also narrowed by the Dodd-Frank Act, including by requiring coordination with other bank regulators.

        The Federal Reserve's Regulation O and OTS regulations impose restrictions and procedural requirements in connection with the extension of credit by a bank or thrift to directors, executive officers, principal stockholders, and their related interests.

Examination Fees

        The OTS currently charges fees to recover the costs of examining federal thrifts and their affiliates, processing applications and other filings, and covering direct and indirect expenses in regulating thrifts and their affiliates. The Dodd-Frank Act provides various agencies with the authority to assess additional supervision fees.

Deposit Insurance Assessments

        FDIC-insured depository institutions are required to pay deposit insurance assessments to the FDIC. The amount of a particular institution's deposit insurance assessment is based on that institution's risk classification under an FDIC risk-based assessment system. An institution's risk classification is assigned based on its capital levels and the level of supervisory concern the institution poses to the regulators. Deposit insurance assessments fund the DIF, which is currently under-funded. The FDIC recently raised assessment rates to increase funding for the DIF.

18

Table of Contents

        The Dodd-Frank Act changes the way an insured depository institution's deposit insurance premiums are calculated. The assessment base will no longer be the institution's deposit base, but rather its average consolidated total assets less its average tangible equity. The Dodd-Frank Act also makes changes to the minimum designated reserve ratio of the DIF, increasing the minimum from 1.15 percent to 1.35 percent of the estimated amount of total insured deposits, eliminating the upper limit for the reserve ratio designated by the FDIC each year, and eliminating the requirement that the FDIC pay dividends to depository institutions when the reserve ratio exceeds certain thresholds.

        Continued action by the FDIC to replenish the DIF as well as the changes contained in the Dodd-Frank Act may result in higher assessment rates, which could reduce our profitability or otherwise negatively impact our operations.

Depositor Preference

        The FDI Act provides that, in the event of the "liquidation or other resolution" of an insured depository institution, the claims of depositors of the institution (including the claims of the FDIC as subrogee of insured depositors) and certain claims for administrative expenses of the FDIC as a receiver will have priority over other general unsecured claims against the institution. If we invest in or acquire an insured depository institution that fails, insured and uninsured depositors, along with the FDIC, will have priority in payment ahead of unsecured, non-deposit creditors, including us, with respect to any extensions of credit they have made to such insured depository institution.

Federal Home Loan Bank System

        BankUnited is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, which is one of the twelve regional FHLB's composing the FHLB system. Each FHLB provides a central credit facility primarily for its member institutions as well as other entities involved in home mortgage lending. Any advances from a FHLB must be secured by specified types of collateral, and all long-term advances may be obtained only for the purpose of providing funds for residential housing finance. As a member of the FHLB of Atlanta, BankUnited is required to acquire and hold shares of capital stock in the FHLB of Atlanta. BankUnited has always been in compliance with this requirement with an investment in FHLB of Atlanta stock.

Anti-Money Laundering and OFAC

        Under federal law, financial institutions must maintain anti-money laundering programs that include established internal policies, procedures and controls; a designated compliance officer; an ongoing employee training program; and testing of the program by an independent audit function. Financial institutions are also prohibited from entering into specified financial transactions and account relationships and must meet enhanced standards for due diligence and customer identification in their dealings with foreign financial institutions and foreign customers. Financial institutions must take reasonable steps to conduct enhanced scrutiny of account relationships to guard against money laundering and to report any suspicious transactions, and law enforcement authorities have been granted increased access to financial information maintained by financial institutions. Bank regulators routinely examine institutions for compliance with these obligations and they must consider an institution's compliance in connection with the regulatory review of applications, including applications for banking mergers and acquisitions. The regulatory authorities have imposed "cease and desist" orders and civil money penalty sanctions against institutions found to be violating these obligations.

        The Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, is responsible for helping to insure that U.S. entities do not engage in transactions with certain prohibited parties, as defined by various Executive Orders and Acts of Congress. OFAC sends bank regulatory agencies lists of persons and organizations suspected of aiding, harboring or engaging in terrorist acts, known as Specially Designated Nationals

19

Table of Contents

and Blocked Persons. If the Company or BankUnited find a name on any transaction, account or wire transfer that is on an OFAC list, the Company or BankUnited must freeze such account, file a suspicious activity report and notify the appropriate authorities.

Consumer Laws and Regulations

        Thrifts and other financial institutions are subject to numerous laws and regulations intended to protect consumers. These laws include, among others:

•

Truth in Lending Act;



•

Truth in Savings Act;



•

Electronic Funds Transfer Act;



•

Expedited Funds Availability Act;



•

Equal Credit Opportunity Act;



•

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act;



•

Fair Housing Act;



•

Fair Credit Reporting Act;



•

Fair Debt Collection Act;



•

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act;



•

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act;



•

Right to Financial Privacy Act;



•

Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act;



•

laws regarding unfair and deceptive acts and practices; and



•

usury laws.

        Many states and local jurisdictions have consumer protection laws analogous, and in addition, to those listed above. These federal, state and local laws regulate the manner in which financial institutions deal with customers when taking deposits, making loans, or conducting other types of transactions. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could give rise to regulatory sanctions, customer rescission rights, action by state and local attorneys general, and civil or criminal liability. The creation of the CFPB by the Dodd-Frank Act is likely to lead to enhanced and strengthened enforcement of consumer financial protection laws.

The Community Reinvestment Act

        The Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, is intended to encourage banks to help meet the credit needs of their service areas, including low and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations. The bank regulators examine and assign each bank a public CRA rating. The CRA then requires bank regulators to take into account the federal banking bank's record in meeting the needs of its service area when considering an application by a bank to establish or relocate a branch or to conduct certain mergers or acquisitions. The Federal Reserve is required to consider the CRA records of a bank holding company's (BHC) controlled banks when considering an application by the BHC to acquire a bank or thrift or to merge with another BHC. When the Company or BankUnited applies for regulatory approval to make certain investments, the regulators will consider

20

Table of Contents

the CRA record of target institutions and the Company's depository institution subsidiaries. An unsatisfactory CRA record could substantially delay approval or result in denial of an application. The regulatory agency's assessment of the institution's record is made available to the public. Since the Acquisition, bank regulators have not conducted a CRA exam of BankUnited.

Changes in Laws, Regulations or Policies

        Federal, state and local legislators and regulators regularly introduce measures or take actions that would modify the regulatory requirements applicable to banks, thrifts, their holding companies and other financial institutions. Changes in laws, regulations or regulatory policies could adversely affect the operating environment for the Company in substantial and unpredictable ways, increase our cost of doing business, impose new restrictions on the way in which we conduct our operations or add significant operational constraints that might impair our profitability. We cannot predict whether new legislation will be enacted and, if enacted, the effect that it, or any implementing regulations, would have on our business, financial condition or results of operations. The Dodd-Frank Act imposes substantial changes to the regulatory framework applicable to us and our subsidiaries. The majority of these changes will be implemented over time by various regulatory agencies. The full effect that these changes will have on us remains uncertain at this time and may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Employees

        At December 31, 2010, we employed 1,237 full-time employees and 26 part-time employees. None of our employees are parties to a collective bargaining agreement. We believe that our relations with our employees are good.

Available Information

        Our Website address is www.bankunited.com. Our electronic filings with the SEC (including all Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and if applicable, amendments to those reports) are available free of charge on the Website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The information posted on our Website is not incorporated into this Annual Report. In addition, the SEC maintains a Website that contains reports and other information filed with the SEC. The Website can be accessed at http://www.sec.gov.

Item 1A.    Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business

Failure to comply with the terms of our Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC may result in significant losses.

        In May 2009, we purchased substantially all of the assets and assumed all of the non-brokered deposits and substantially all other liabilities of the Failed Bank in an FDIC-assisted transaction, and presently a substantial portion of BankUnited's revenue is derived from such assets. The purchased loans, commitments, foreclosed assets and certain securities are covered by the Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC, which provide that a significant portion of the losses related to the Covered Assets will be borne by the FDIC. Under the Loss Sharing Agreements, we are obligated to comply with certain loan servicing standards, including requirements to participate in government-sponsored loan modification programs. As these standards evolve, we may experience difficulties in complying with the requirements of the Loss Sharing Agreements, which could result in Covered Assets losing some or all of their coverage. BankUnited is subject to audits with the terms of the Loss Sharing

21

Table of Contents

Agreements by the FDIC through its designated agent. The required terms of the agreements are extensive and failure to comply with any of the guidelines could result in a specific asset or group of assets losing their loss sharing coverage. See Item 1 "Business—The Acquisition—Loss Sharing Agreements."

The geographic concentration of our markets in the coastal regions of Florida makes our business highly susceptible to local economic conditions and natural disasters.

        Unlike larger financial institutions that are more geographically diversified, our branch offices are primarily concentrated in the coastal regions of Florida. Additionally, a significant portion of our loans secured by real estate are secured by commercial and residential properties in Florida. The Florida economy and our market in particular have been affected by the downturn in commercial and residential property values, and the decline in real estate values in Florida during the downturn has been higher than the national average. Additionally, the Florida economy relies heavily on tourism and seasonal residents, which have also been affected by recent market disruptions. Continued deterioration in economic conditions in the markets we serve or the occurrence of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, or a man-made catastrophe, such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, could result in one or more of the following:

•

an increase in loan delinquencies;



•

an increase in problem assets and foreclosures;



•

a decrease in the demand for our products and services; or



•

a decrease in the value of collateral for loans, especially real estate, in turn reducing customers' borrowing power, the value of assets associated with problem loans and collateral coverage.

        Hurricanes and other catastrophes to which our markets in the coastal regions of Florida are susceptible also can disrupt our operations, result in damage to our properties, reduce or destroy the value of collateral and negatively affect the local economies in which we operate, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

        A decline in existing and new real estate sales decreases lending opportunities, may delay the collection of our cash flow from the Loss Sharing Agreements, and negatively affects our income. We do not anticipate that the real estate market will improve in the near-term and, accordingly, this could lead to additional valuation adjustments on our loan portfolios.

Delinquencies and defaults in residential mortgages have recently increased, creating a backlog in courts and an increase in the amount of legislative action that might restrict or delay our ability to foreclose and hence delay the collection of payments for single family residential loans under the Loss Sharing Agreements.

        For the single family residential loans covered by the Loss Sharing Agreements, we cannot collect loss share payments until we liquidate the properties securing those loans. These loss share payments could be delayed by an extended foreclosure process, including delays resulting from a court backlog, local or national foreclosure moratoriums or other delays, and these delays could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Homeowner protection laws may also delay the initiation or completion of foreclosure proceedings on specified types of residential mortgage loans. Any such limitations are likely to cause delayed or reduced collections from mortgagors. Any restriction on our ability to foreclose on a loan, any requirement that we forgo a portion of the amount otherwise due on a loan or any requirement that we modify any original loan terms could negatively impact our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

22

Table of Contents

Our loan portfolio has and will continue to be affected by the ongoing correction in residential and commercial real estate prices and reduced levels of residential and commercial real estate sales.

        Soft residential and commercial real estate markets, higher delinquency and default rates, and increasingly volatile and constrained secondary credit markets have affected the mortgage industry generally, and Florida in particular, which is where our business is currently most heavily concentrated. Our financial results may be adversely affected by changes in real estate values. We make credit and reserve decisions based on the current conditions of borrowers or projects combined with our expectations for the future. If the slowdown in the real estate market continues, we could experience higher charge-offs and delinquencies beyond that which is provided in the allowance for loan losses. Although we have the Loss Sharing Agreements with the FDIC, these agreements do not cover 100% of the losses attributable to Covered Assets. In addition, the Loss Sharing Agreements will not mitigate any losses on our non-Covered Assets and our earnings could be adversely affected through a higher than anticipated provision for loan losses on such assets.

Our business is highly susceptible to credit risk on our non-Covered Assets.

        As a lender, we are exposed to the risk that our customers will be unable to repay their loans according to their terms and that the collateral securing the payment of their loans (if any) may not be sufficient to assure repayment. Similarly, we have credit risk embedded in our securities portfolio. Our credit standards, procedures and policies may not prevent us from incurring substantial credit losses, particularly in light of market developments in recent years. Recent economic and market developments and the potential for continued economic disruption present considerable risks to us and it is difficult to determine the depth and duration of the economic and financial market problems and the many ways in which they may impact our business in general. The Loss Sharing Agreements only cover certain legacy assets, and credit losses on assets not covered by the Loss Sharing Agreements could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Changes in interest rates could have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

        Our earnings and cash flows depend to a great extent upon the level of our net interest income. Changes in interest rates can increase or decrease our net interest income, because different types of assets and liabilities may react differently, and at different times, to market interest rate changes. Net interest income is the difference between the interest income we earn on loans, investments and other interest earning assets, and the interest we pay on interest bearing liabilities, such as deposits and borrowings. When interest bearing liabilities mature or reprice more quickly than interest earning assets in a period, an increase in interest rates could reduce net interest income. Similarly, when interest earning assets mature or reprice more quickly than interest bearing liabilities, falling interest rates could reduce net interest income. Additionally, an increase in interest rates may, among other things, reduce the demand for loans and our ability to originate loans and decrease loan repayment rates. A decrease in the general level of interest rates may affect us through, among other things, increased prepayments on our loan and mortgage-backed securities portfolios and increased competition for deposits. Accordingly, changes in the level of market interest rates affect our net yield on interest earning assets, loan origination volume, loan and mortgage-backed securities portfolios, and our overall results. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies, particularly the Federal Reserve.

        We attempt to manage our risk from changes in market interest rates by adjusting the rates, maturity, repricing, and balances of the different types of interest-earning assets and interest bearing liabilities; however, interest rate risk management techniques are not precise, and we may not be able to successfully manage our interest rate risk. As a result, a rapid increase or decrease in interest rates could have an adverse effect on our net interest margin and results of operations.

23

Table of Contents

We depend on our executive officers and key personnel to continue the implementation of our long-term business strategy and could be harmed by the loss of their services.

        We believe that our continued growth and future success will depend in large part on the skills of our senior management team. We believe our senior management team possesses valuable knowledge about and experience in the banking industry and that their knowledge and relationships would be very difficult to replicate. Although our senior management team has entered into employment agreements with us, they may not complete the term of their employment agreements or renew them upon expiration. Our success also depends on the experience of our branch managers and lending officers and on their relationships with the customers and communities they serve. The loss of service of one or more of our executive officers or key personnel, or the inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the future, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results and the value of our common stock.

Our allowance for credit losses may not be adequate to cover actual credit losses.

        We maintain an allowance for loan losses that represents management's estimate of probable losses inherent in our credit portfolio. This estimate requires management to make certain assumptions and involves a high degree of judgment, particularly as our originated loan portfolio is not yet seasoned and has not yet developed an observable loss trend and Covered Loans that did not exhibit evidence of deterioration in credit quality at acquisition, or non-ACI loans, have limited delinquency statistics. Management considers numerous factors, including, but not limited to, internal risk ratings, loss forecasts, collateral values, geographic location, borrower FICO scores, delinquency rates, the proportion of non-performing and restructured loans in the loan portfolio, origination channels, product mix, underwriting practices, industry conditions, economic trends and net charge-off trends.

        If management's assumptions and judgments prove to be incorrect, our current allowance may be insufficient and we may be required to increase our allowance for loan losses. In addition, federal and state regulators periodically review our allowance for loan losses and may require us to increase our provision for loan losses or recognize further loan charge-offs, based on judgments different than those of our management. Continued adverse economic conditions could make management's estimate even more complex and difficult to determine. Any increase in our allowance for loan losses will result in a decrease in net income and capital and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. See Item 7 "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Analysis of the Allowance for Loan Losses" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Accounting for Covered Loans."

We may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates and may be unable to manage our growth due to acquisitions.

        A key component of our growth strategy is to pursue acquisitions of complementary businesses. As consolidation of the banking industry continues, the competition for suitable acquisition candidates may increase. We compete with other banking companies for acquisition opportunities and there are a limited number of candidates that meet our acquisition criteria. Consequently, we may not be able to identify suitable candidates for acquisitions. If we are unable to locate suitable acquisition candidates willing to sell on terms acceptable to us, our net income could decline and we would be required to find other methods to grow our business.

        Even if suitable candidates are identified and we succeed in consummating future acquisitions, acquisitions involve risks that the acquired business may not achieve anticipated revenue, earnings or cash flows. There may also be unforeseen liabilities relating to the acquired institution or arising out of the acquisition, asset quality problems of the acquired entity, difficulty operating in markets in which

24

Table of Contents

we have had no or only limited experience and other conditions not within our control, such as adverse personnel relations, loss of customers because of change in identity, and deterioration in local economic conditions.

        In addition, the process of integrating acquired entities will divert significant management time and resources. We may not be able to integrate successfully or operate profitably any financial institutions we may acquire. We may experience disruption and incur unexpected expenses in integrating acquisitions. Any acquisitions we do make may not enhance our cash flows, business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects and may have an adverse effect on our results of operations, particularly during periods in which the acquisitions are being integrated into our operations.

We face significant competition from other financial institutions and financial services providers, which may decrease our growth or profits.

        The primary market we serve is Florida. Consumer and commercial banking in Florida is highly competitive. Our market contains not only a large number of community and regional banks, but also a significant presence of the country's largest commercial banks. We compete with other state and national financial institutions located in Florida and adjoining states as well as savings and loan associations, savings banks and credit unions for deposits and loans. In addition, we compete with financial intermediaries, such as consumer finance companies, mortgage banking companies, insurance companies, securities firms, mutual funds and several government agencies as well as major retailers, all actively engaged in providing various types of loans and other financial services.

        The financial services industry could become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory and technological changes and continued consolidation. Banks, securities firms and insurance companies can merge under the umbrella of a financial holding company, which can offer virtually any type of financial service, including banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both agency and underwriting) and merchant banking. Increased competition among financial services companies due to the recent consolidation of certain competing financial institutions may adversely affect our ability to market our products and services. Also, technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for banks to compete in our market without a retail footprint by offering competitive rates, as well as non-banks to offer products and services traditionally provided by banks. Many of our competitors have fewer regulatory constraints and may have lower cost structures. Additionally, due to their size, many competitors may offer a broader range of products and services as well as better pricing for certain products and services than we can.

        Our ability to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, including:

•

the ability to develop, maintain and build upon long-term customer relationships based on quality service, high ethical standards and safe and sound assets;



•

the ability to attract and retain qualified employees to operate our business effectively;



•

the ability to expand our market position;



•

the scope, relevance and pricing of products and services offered to meet customer needs and demands;



•

the rate at which we introduce new products and services relative to our competitors;



•

customer satisfaction with our level of service; and



•

industry and general economic trends.

25

Table of Contents

        Failure to perform in any of these areas could significantly weaken our competitive position, which could adversely affect our growth and profitability, which, in turn, could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Since we engage in lending secured by real estate and may be forced to foreclose on the collateral property and own the underlying real estate, we may be subject to the increased costs and risks associated with the ownership of real property, which could have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

        A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real property. During the ordinary course of business, we may foreclose on and take title to properties securing certain loans, in which case, we are exposed to the risks inherent in the ownership of real estate. The amount that we, as a mortgagee, may realize after a default is dependent upon factors outside of our control, including:

•

general or local economic conditions;



•

environmental cleanup liability;



•

neighborhood values;



•

interest rates;



•

real estate tax rates;



•

operating expenses of the mortgaged properties;



•

supply of and demand for rental units or properties;



•

ability to obtain and maintain adequate occupancy of the properties;



•

zoning laws;



•

governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies; and



•

hurricanes or other natural or man-made disasters.

        Certain expenditures associated with the ownership of real estate, principally real estate taxes and maintenance costs, may also adversely affect our operating expenses.

We are dependent on our information technology and telecommunications systems and third-party servicers, and systems failures, interruptions or breaches of security could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

        Our business is highly dependent on the successful and uninterrupted functioning of our information technology and telecommunications systems and third-party servicers. We outsource our major systems including our electronic funds transfer, or EFT, transaction processing, cash management and online banking services. We rely on these systems to process new and renewal loans, gather deposits, provide customer service, facilitate collections and share data across our organization. The failure of these systems, or the termination of a third-party software license or service agreement on which any of these systems is based, could interrupt our operations. Because our information technology and telecommunications systems interface with and depend on third-party systems, we could experience service denials if demand for such services exceeds capacity or such third-party systems fail or experience interruptions. If sustained or repeated, a system failure or service denial could result in a deterioration of our ability to process new and renewal loans, gather deposits and provide customer service, compromise our ability to operate effectively, damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, and/or subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

26

Table of Contents

        We are currently in the process of implementing substantial changes to our core deposit platform. We may not be able to successfully implement this new core system in an effective manner. In addition, we may incur significant increases in costs and encounter extensive delays in the implementation and rollout of our new operating system. If there are technological impediments, unforeseen complications, errors or breakdowns in implementing this new core operating system or if this new core operating system does not meet the requirements of our customers, our business, financial condition, results of operations or customer perceptions may be adversely affected.

        In addition, we provide our customers the ability to bank remotely, including online and over the telephone. The secure transmission of confidential information over the Internet and other remote channels is a critical element of remote banking. Our network could be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses, phishing schemes and other security breaches. We may be required to spend significant capital and other resources to protect against the threat of security breaches and computer viruses, or to alleviate problems caused by security breaches or viruses. To the extent that our activities or the activities of our customers involve the storage and transmission of confidential information, security breaches and viruses could expose us to claims, litigation and other possible liabilities. Any inability to prevent security breaches or computer viruses could also cause existing customers to lose confidence in our systems and could adversely affect our reputation and our ability to generate business.

BankUnited is a de novo bank, which could be mistaken for the Failed Bank, and this and other reputational risks could affect our results.

        BankUnited was established as a de novo federal savings association in order to participate in the FDIC-assisted acquisition of the Failed Bank. There is a reputational risk in being incorrectly associated with the Failed Bank. Our ability to originate and maintain accounts is highly dependent upon consumer and other external perceptions of our business practices and/or our financial health. Adverse perceptions regarding our business practices and/or our financial health could damage our reputation in both the customer and funding markets, leading to difficulties in generating and maintaining accounts as well as in financing them. Adverse developments with respect to the consumer or other external perceptions regarding the practices of our competitors, or our industry as a whole, may also adversely impact our reputation. In addition, adverse reputational impacts on third parties with whom we have important relationships may also adversely impact our reputation. Adverse reputational impacts or events may also increase our litigation risk. We carefully monitor internal and external developments for areas of potential reputational risk and have established governance structures to assist in evaluating such risks in our business practices and decisions.

BankUnited Investment Services offers third-party products including mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, individual securities and other wealth management services which could experience significant declines in value subjecting us to reputational damage and litigation risk.

        Through our subsidiary BankUnited Investment Services, we offer third-party products including mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, individual securities and other wealth management products and services. If these products do not generate competitive risk-adjusted returns that satisfy clients in a variety of asset classes, we will have difficulty maintaining existing business and attracting new business. Additionally, our investment services businesses involve the risk that clients or others may sue us, claiming that we have failed to perform under a contract or otherwise failed to carry out a duty owed to them. Our investment services businesses are particularly subject to this risk and this risk may be heightened during periods when credit, equity or other financial markets are deteriorating in value or are particularly volatile, or when clients or investors are experiencing losses. Significant declines in the performance of these third-party products could subject us to reputational damage and litigation risk.

27

Table of Contents

Risks Relating to the Regulation of Our Industry

The enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 may have a material effect on our operations.

        On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Act, which imposes significant regulatory and compliance changes. The key effects of the Dodd-Frank Act on our business are:

•

changes to the thrift supervisory structure;



•

changes to regulatory capital requirements;



•

creation of new government regulatory agencies;



•

limitation on federal preemption;



•

changes in insured depository institution regulations; and



•

mortgage loan origination and risk retention.

        The changes resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act may impact the profitability of our business activities, require changes to certain of our business practices, impose upon us more stringent capital, liquidity and leverage requirements or otherwise adversely affect our business. These changes may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make any changes necessary to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with the new requirements or with any future changes in laws or regulations may negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. For a more detailed description of the Dodd-Frank Act, see Item 1 "Business—Regulation and Supervision—The Dodd-Frank Act."

We operate in a highly regulated environment and the laws and regulations that govern our operations, corporate governance, executive compensation and accounting principles, or changes in them, or our failure to comply with them, may adversely affect us.

        We are subject to extensive regulation, supervision, and legislation that govern almost all aspects of our operations. Intended to protect customers, depositors and deposit insurance funds, these laws and regulations, among other matters, prescribe minimum capital requirements, impose limitations on the business activities in which we can engage, limit the dividend or distributions that BankUnited can pay to us, restrict the ability of institutions to guarantee our debt, and impose certain specific accounting requirements on us that may be more restrictive and may result in greater or earlier charges to earnings or reductions in our capital than generally accepted accounting principles. Compliance with laws and regulations can be difficult and costly, and changes to laws and regulations often impose additional compliance costs. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations, even if the failure follows good faith effort or reflects a difference in interpretation, could subject us to restrictions on our business activities, fines and other penalties, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations, capital base and the price of our securities. Further, any new laws, rules and regulations could make compliance more difficult or expensive or otherwise adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The FDIC's restoration plan and the related increased assessment rate could adversely affect our earnings.

        Market developments have significantly depleted the DIF and reduced the ratio of reserves to insured deposits. As a result of recent economic conditions and the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC has increased the deposit insurance assessment rates and thus raised deposit premiums for insured depository institutions. If these increases are insufficient for the DIF to meet its funding requirements, further special assessments or increases in deposit insurance premiums may be required. We are generally unable to control the amount of premiums that we are required to pay for FDIC

28

Table of Contents

insurance. If there are additional bank or financial institution failures, we may be required to pay even higher FDIC premiums than the recently increased levels. Any future additional assessments, increases or required prepayments in FDIC insurance premiums may materially adversely affect results of operations.

Federal banking agencies periodically conduct examinations of our business, including compliance with laws and regulations, and our failure to comply with any supervisory actions to which we are or become subject as a result of such examinations may adversely affect us.

        Federal banking agencies, including the OTS, periodically conduct examinations of our business, including compliance with laws and regulations. If, as a result of an examination, a federal banking agency were to determine that the financial condition, capital resources, asset quality, earnings prospects, management, liquidity or other aspects of any of our operations had become unsatisfactory, or that the Company or its management was in violation of any law or regulation, it may take a number of different remedial actions as it deems appropriate. These actions include the power to enjoin "unsafe or unsound" practices, to require affirmative actions to correct any conditions resulting from any violation or practice, to issue an administrative order that can be judicially enforced, to direct an increase in BankUnited's capital, to restrict our growth, to assess civil monetary penalties against our officers or directors, to remove officers and directors and, if it is concluded that such conditions cannot be corrected or there is an imminent risk of loss to depositors, to terminate BankUnited's deposit insurance. If we become subject to such regulatory actions, our business, results of operations and reputation may be negatively impacted.

Many of our new activities and expansion plans require regulatory approvals, and failure to obtain them may restrict our growth.

        We intend to complement and expand our business by pursuing strategic acquisitions of banks and other financial institutions. We must generally receive federal regulatory approval before we can acquire an institution or business. In determining whether to approve a proposed acquisition, federal bank regulators will consider, among other factors, the effect of the acquisition on the competition, our financial condition, and our future prospects. The regulators also review current and projected capital ratios and levels, the competence, experience, and integrity of management and its record of compliance with laws and regulations, the convenience and needs of the communities to be served (including the acquiring institution's record of compliance under the CRA) and the effectiveness of the acquiring institution in combating money laundering activities. Such regulatory approvals may not be granted on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. We may also be required to sell branches as a condition to receiving regulatory approval, which condition may not be acceptable to us or, if acceptable to us, may reduce the benefit of any acquisition.

        In addition to the acquisition of existing financial institutions, as opportunities arise, we plan to continue de novo branching as a part of our internal growth strategy and possibly enter into new markets through de novo branching. De novo branching and any acquisition carries with it numerous risks, including the inability to obtain all required regulatory approvals. The failure to obtain these regulatory approvals for potential future strategic acquisitions and de novo branches may impact our business plans and restrict our growth.

Financial institutions, such as BankUnited, face a risk of noncompliance and enforcement action with the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.

        The federal Bank Secrecy Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, and other laws and regulations require financial institutions, among other duties, to institute and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and file suspicious activity and currency transaction reports as appropriate. The federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, established by the U.S. Treasury Department to administer the

29

Table of Contents

Bank Secrecy Act, is authorized to impose significant civil money penalties for violations of those requirements, and has recently engaged in coordinated enforcement efforts with the individual federal banking regulators, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service. There is also increased scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

        In order to comply with regulations, guidelines and examination procedures in this area, we have enhanced our anti-money laundering program by adopting new policies and procedures and selecting a new, robust automated anti-money laundering software solution that is scheduled to be implemented in early 2011. If our policies, procedures and systems are deemed deficient or the policies, procedures and systems of the financial institutions that we have already acquired or may acquire in the future are deficient, we would be subject to liability, including fines and regulatory actions such as restrictions on our ability to pay dividends and the necessity to obtain regulatory approvals to proceed with certain aspects of our business plan, including our acquisition plans.

We are subject to the CRA and fair lending laws, and failure to comply with these laws could lead to material penalties.

        The CRA, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act and other fair lending laws and regulations impose nondiscriminatory lending requirements on financial institutions. The Department of Justice and other federal agencies are responsible for enforcing these laws and regulations. A successful challenge to an institution's performance under the CRA or fair lending laws and regulations could result in a wide variety of sanctions, including the required payment of damages and civil money penalties, injunctive relief, imposition of restrictions on mergers and acquisitions activity, and restrictions on expansion activity. Private parties may also have the ability to challenge an institution's performance under fair lending laws in private class action litigation.

Item 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments

        None.

Item 2.    Properties

        At December 31, 2010, we leased 120,672 square feet of office and operations space in Miami Lakes, Florida. This space includes our principal executive offices, operations center and a retail branch. At December 31, 2010, we provided banking services at 81 branch locations in 13 Florida counties. Of the 81 branch properties, we leased 76 locations and owned 5 locations.

        At December 31, 2010, we also dedicated approximately 2,100 square feet of office and operations space in Miami Lakes, Florida to house BankUnited Investment Services, 10,619 square feet of office and operations space in Hunt Valley, Maryland to house United Business Capital Lending, and 5,488 square feet of office and operations space in Scottsdale, Arizona to house Pinnacle Public Finance.

        We believe that our facilities are in good condition and are adequate to meet our operating needs for the foreseeable future.

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

        From time to time we are a party to various litigation matters incidental to the conduct of our business. We are not presently party to any legal proceedings the resolution of which we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition or cash flow.

Item 4.    Removed and Reserved

30

Table of Contents

PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information and Holders of Record

        Shares of our common stock began trading on the NYSE under the symbol "BKU" on January 28, 2011. As a result, we have not set forth quarterly information with respect to the high and low prices for our common stock and the dividends declared on our common stock for the two most recent fiscal years. Prior to that time there was no public market for our common stock. As of March 23, 2011, there were 39 stockholders of record of our common stock.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

        Our equity compensation plan information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the information in Part III, Item 12 "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters—Equity Compensation Plan Information" of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Dividend Policy

        We anticipate paying a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share on our common stock, subject to the discretion of our Board and dependent on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions contained in future financing instruments and other factors that our Board may deem relevant. Dividends from the Bank are the principal source of funds for the payment of dividends on our common stock. The Bank is subject to certain restrictions that may limit its ability to pay dividends to us. See Item 1 "Business—Regulation and Supervision—Regulatory Limits on Dividends and Distributions." During the period ended December 31, 2009, we did not pay a cash dividend to the holder of our common stock. On October 28, 2010, we paid a quarterly dividend of $14.0 million, with a record date of October 15, 2010. On October 28, 2010, we also paid a one-time special dividend of $6.0 million, with a record date of October 19, 2010. On January 18, 2011, we paid another quarterly dividend of $14.0 million, with a record date of January 3, 2011.

Use of Proceeds

        Our registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-170203) was declared effective on January 27, 2011, pursuant to which we registered the offering and sale of 33,350,000 shares of common stock at an initial public offering price of $27.00 per share. Our initial public offering included 4,000,000 newly issued shares of common stock sold by us (the primary offering) and 29,350,000 existing shares of common stock sold by selling stockholders (the secondary offering). The 29,350,000 shares of common stock sold by the selling stockholders in the secondary offering included 4,350,000 shares covered by an over-allotment option granted to the underwriters. On January 27, 2011, we sold 4,000,000 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $108 million, before underwriters' discounts and offering expenses, and the selling stockholders sold 29,350,000 shares (including 4,350,000 shares pursuant to their over-allotment option) for gross proceeds of $792.5 million, before underwriters' discounts.

        Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated acted as joint book-running managers for the offering and as representatives of the underwriters. In connection with the initial public offering and underwriters' exercise of the overallotment option, we paid $5.4 million in underwriting discounts to the underwriters and the selling stockholders paid $39.6 million in underwriters' discounts to the underwriters.

31

Table of Contents

        In connection with the initial public offering including the underwriters' exercise of the overallotment option, we received net proceeds of $97.6 million, after deducting underwriters' discounts of $5.4 million and additional estimated offering expenses of approximately $5.0 million. The offering expenses include SEC registration fees, FINRA filing fees, NYSE listing fees and expenses, legal fees and expenses, printing expenses, transfer agent and registrar fees and expenses, accounting fees and expenses as well as other miscellaneous expenses. The selling stockholders received net proceeds of approximately $752.3 million, after deducting underwriters' discounts of approximately $39.6 million. We did not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders in the secondary offering.

        During the period from the closing of the offering on February 2, 2011 through the filing of this report, we have used the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

        In the last three fiscal years, BankUnited, Inc. has issued the following securities:

        On April 28, 2009, in connection with its incorporation and initial capitalization, BankUnited, Inc. issued 1,000 shares of its common stock to BU Financial Holdings LLC for $10, which shares were subsequently canceled at the time of the Acquisition.

        Since the Acquisition on May 21, 2009, BankUnited, Inc. issued an aggregate of 92,971,850 shares of its common stock to BU Financial Holdings LLC for consideration of $950.3 million in capital investment transactions.

        The issuances of securities described in the preceding paragraphs were made in reliance upon the exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering. BankUnited, Inc. did not offer or sell the securities by any form of general solicitation or general advertising, informed the purchaser that the securities had not been registered under the Securities Act and were subject to restrictions on transfer, and made offers only to the purchaser, whom BankUnited, Inc. believed had the knowledge and experience in financial and business matters to evaluate the merits and risks of an investment in the securities.

        BankUnited, Inc. granted certain of its employees (none of whom are named executive officers other than Mr. Melby, the "Management Members") 1,031,700 options to purchase an aggregate of 1,031,700 shares of our common stock under our 2009 Stock Option Plan. 49,990 of these options were forfeited subsequent to grant. These grants were exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to Rule 701 promulgated thereunder inasmuch as they were offered and sold under written compensatory benefit plans and otherwise in compliance with the provisions of Rule 701.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

        None.

Item 6.    Selected Consolidated Financial Data

        You should read the selected consolidated financial data set forth below in conjunction with "Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The selected consolidated financial data set forth below at December 31, 2010 and for the year then ended and at December 31, 2009 and for the period then ended is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The selected consolidated financial data set forth below at September 30, 2008, 2007, and 2006, for the period from

32

Table of Contents

October 1, 2008 to May 21, 2009 and for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008, 2007 and 2006 has been derived from the consolidated financial statements of the Failed Bank.

        Although we were incorporated on April 28, 2009, neither we nor the Bank had any substantive operations prior to the Acquisition on May 21, 2009. Results of operations of the Company for the post-Acquisition periods are not comparable to the results of operations of the Failed Bank for the pre-Acquisition periods. Results of operations for the post-Acquisition periods reflect, among other things, the acquisition method of accounting. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Periods Presented and Factors Affecting Comparability."

33

Table of Contents