BankUnited: Factoring Firm Is Not Our Partner

BankUnited (BKU) says a factoring firm overstated its relationship with the Miami Lakes, Fla., bank.

The $12 billion-asset BankUnited has extended a loan to Paragon Financial, a factoring firm based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. However, BankUnited this week denied Paragon's announcement that the two had formed a partnership to serve commercial customers and opened a lending facility together.

American Banker and other news outlets had reported the initial announcement by Paragon, which was made in a press release last week that included quotes attributed to a BankUnited executive.

Chris Curtin, Paragon's national sales manager, affirmed that his company is a BankUnited client and blamed the mistakes in the release to a miscommunication between the companies.

Paragon provides factoring services to businesses with monthly revenue of less than $3 million.

BankUnited, led by former North Fork Bancorp chairman John Kanas, expanded into the New York City market earlier this year.