MIAMI LAKES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 7, 2026--
BankUnited Inc. (NYSE: BKU) announced it has hired Chad Loar to lead commercial banking as executive vice president, responsible for leading the bank’s commercial business throughout Florida, New York, New Jersey, Texas and the Southeast.
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"Chad is a proven commercial banking leader with a track record of building high-performing teams, deepening client relationships and delivering disciplined, sustainable portfolio growth," said Ernie Diaz, senior executive vice president, consumer & commercial/small business executive, to whom Loar will report. "His ability to build the bank's brand within the communities we serve aligns with BankUnited's commitment to putting clients at the center of everything we do and positions us well to grow our commercial business across our geographic footprint. We're excited to have him on the team."
As the head of commercial banking, Loar will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of BankUnited’s commercial banking business, driving growth, profitability and client outcomes across lending, deposits and treasury services.
An industry veteran with 25 years of experience, Loar joins BankUnited from PNC Bank in Tampa, where he served most recently as regional president. In this role, he oversaw the bank’s full scope of business across the west coast of Florida. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Fifth Third Bank, also in Tampa.
A graduate of Leadership Florida, Loar is a past chair of the St. Petersburg Economic Development Council and Tampa Bay Partnership and former board member of the Central Florida Partnership. He is the incoming chair of both the Bayfront Health Foundation – Orlando Health and United Way Suncoast and contributes his time to Florida Tax Watch and other civic organizations. Loar holds an MBA from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University.
BankUnited, N.A., is a national bank and one of the largest independent depository institutions headquartered in Florida, now operating in Florida, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Morristown, New Jersey, and Charlotte, North Carolina. BankUnited provides a broad range of consumer and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions.
Loar will be based at BankUnited’s Tampa Corporate office, 400 N Tampa Street, Tampa, Florida. For more information call 305-231-6400 or visit www.BankUnited.com.
About BankUnited, N.A.
BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU), with total assets of $35.4 billion at March 31, 2026, is the bank holding company of BankUnited, N.A., a national bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida, with operations in Florida, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Morristown, New Jersey, and Charlotte, North Carolina. BankUnited provides a full range of consumer and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions, and offers certain commercial lending and deposit products through national platforms. For additional information, call (877) 779-2265 or visit www.BankUnited.com. BankUnited can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/BankUnited.official, LinkedIn @BankUnited and on X @BankUnited.
Chad Loar, BankUnited Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Banking (Courtesy of Chad Loar)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Denmark on Wednesday vowed to defend its territory after President Donald Trump insisted again that the United States should control Greenland, upending a NATO summit in Turkey meant to be a show of strength and unity.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack, and would rely on NATO allies to honor their commitment to defend each other.
“We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenland people’s right for self-determination,” Frederiksen said ahead of the meeting of NATO leaders. “Greenland is of course not for sale.”
Trump had reopened old wounds on the eve of the meeting by insisting that the United States should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory.
Hi renewed interest in Greenland could put at risk the entire future of NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The organization is normally focused on outside threats such as that posed by Russia. It is not designed to deal with threats from within.
European countries, especially the ones with borders near Russia, worry that President Vladimir Putin might be planning some kind of an attack.
Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said Greenland “belongs to the people of Greenland,” and called for unity.
“Russia is their biggest threat when it comes to these NATO allies,” she said. “We need to focus on us and how we stick together.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said from Ankara on Wednesday that he believes the United States is fully committed to the military organization, and praised Trump for taking forceful action against Iran overnight.
“I think it was absolutely necessary because when you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating a ceasefire, we see what happened yesterday,” Rutte said of the series of U.S. strikes on Iran after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react,” Rutte said.
The U.S. strikes on Iran, as well as the revoking of a license allowing it to sell its oil on global markets, were retaliation, and underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting between the two countries.
The U.S. launched the attacks shortly after Trump left a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump has so far not spoken about the strikes.
The meeting in Ankara was meant to focus on progress made toward meeting the alliance’s spending targets — something Rutte highlighted by noting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark and Greece are already investing more.
“The commitment is there, no doubt,” Rutte said before chairing the summit, but noted the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadian will equalize their spending with the United States.”
In an attempt last month to mollify the U.S. leader, Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.
Yet Trump has demanded “loyalty” and branded NATO a “paper tiger” after some allies refused to grant open access to their bases for U.S. forces to attack Iran.
As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.
NATO diplomats and officials had hoped that Trump would take the win, but judging by some of his remarks since arriving in Turkey, they are in for yet another dressing down.
Trump has long argued that the U.S. carries more than its fair share of the defense burden for NATO. At last year's summit, the allies agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on roads, bridges and ports so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.
Yet new figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic could be in hot water with the Trump administration as they struggle to meet the alliance’s old target of investing 2% of their GDP.
The Trump administration wants to see a more lean and lethal “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.
However, the Pentagon has launched a 6-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.
The drawdowns could depend on how fast the European allies increase defense spending, and whether they are prepared to allow greater use of their bases.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a fresh appeal Tuesday for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities.
Zelenskyy, who is expected to meet with Trump in Ankara on Wednesday, highlighted Ukraine’s adaptability and its ability to strike deep inside Russia, hit Moscow’s oil refineries and other energy targets. He said Ukraine’s armed forces are “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month.
Concern has been mounting among some northern, central and eastern European countries that Russia might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.
U.S. Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), one member of a congressional delegation attending the NATO summit, said at a news conference Wednesday that she hoped there would be a “recommitment” to Ukraine, “because the momentum is on the side of Ukraine at this point and we need to do everything possible to ramp up pressure on Russia to come to the table.”
Trump will also meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent who led the offensive that unseated autocrat Bashar Assad in December 2024. Despite having once been an al-Qaida fighter, al-Sharaa has won Trump’s backing as he seeks to rebuild Syria and restore its long-shattered ties with the West.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that al-Sharaa would do a better job of rooting out Hezbollah in Lebanon than the Israeli army, raising alarms in Lebanon and Israel alike. The Syrian leader has said he has no interest in doing so.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks out from his car window as he arrives for the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Metin Aktaş, Pool Photo via AP)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, center, poses with NATO defense ministers and industry representatives during the opening of the NATO Defense Industry Forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks at the opening of the NATO Defense Industry Forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during a formal welcome for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Two men walk past the NATO logo during the NATO Defense Industry Forum at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
