BankUnited Announces Approval of Its Applications to Acquire Herald National Bank and Become a Bank Holding Company

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU) announced today that its applications to acquire Herald National Bank (NYSE: HNB) have been approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

BKU also announced today that BankUnited, its wholly-owned thrift subsidiary, has received OCC approval to convert its charter to a national bank. Upon completion of the acquisition of Herald and the conversion of BankUnited to a national bank, BKU will become a bank holding company. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement by and between BKU and Herald, as amended, BKU expects both the Herald acquisition and the bank conversion to be completed on February 29, 2012.