Recently the financial industry has taken a nose dive. Between bankruptcies and indecision about government funded bail outs, it’s no wonder many employers have found it necessary to layoff workers. Over the last few weeks Wall Street has lost a significant number of positions, now Florida jobs are getting the ax.

On Friday, September 26th, BankUnited Financial Corp announced that economic trouble has caused the company to decide to decrease its staff by 12 percent, which is approximately 160 jobs. For the most part these positions will be pulled from the company’s residential lending support and operations.

As part of these layoffs, 85 Florida jobs will be cut in Miami-Dade county, 21 in Broward and 13 in Palm Beach. The remaining positions will be taken from the company’s facilities in Florida’s West Coast and elsewhere in the country. After the layoffs, BankUnited will employee around 1,000 people.

“Unfortunately in this unprecedented economic environment, it has become a necessary step,” said a company spokesperson in a recent statement. These layoffs will result in BankUnited saving $11 million a year.

According to a recent article printed on Channel 4 CBS News’ website, the company has agreed with its regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision, to not issue any loans that will result in negative amortization or loans with reduced or no documentation. Such lending practices assisted in creating the state’s booming real estate industry and its subsequent failure.

BankUnited will also defer payments of interest on approximately $237 million of subordinated debt. This is allowed under the terms of loan agreements for up to 20 consecutive quarters, given that there is no default on payment.

The company’s problems began as the state’s housing market began to flounder. With a large decrease in mortgage activity throughout the nation, Florida has found itself suffering more than many other areas. The state has now found itself at the top of the list for areas with the highest rate of foreclosures.

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