Banks Said to Eye City National in Florida: Report

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., could be looking to add to its holdings in the Sunshine State.

The $183 billion-asset company is among several banks said by analysts to be in the running to buy City National Bank of Florida, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Wednesday.

The $4.3 billion-asset City National said in November that its parent company, Bankia, had reached an agreement with the European Union and Spain's government to recapitalize after accepting bailout funds. The restructuring requires the Spanish banking giant to shed City National and other holdings that regulators consider to be non-strategic.

Other banks said to be considering a bid for City National include PNC Financial (PNC), Bank United (BKU) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD).

Representatives for BB&T, BankUnited, PNC, Toronto-Dominion and City National all declined to comment on the report.

Bankia bought City National in 2008 for $1.1 billion. City National has 26 branches in Florida.

In an December interview, BB&T Chairman and CEO Kelly King said acquisitions would play "an important part" in the company's future. "We've always been aggressive with acquisitions — we'll look at anything that moves that makes common sense — but we'll be very conservative," King said.

In July, BB&T bought BankAtlantic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for $316 million.