COF Capital One Financial Corporation

BankUnited Inc.'s chief operating officer will become chief executive next year, succeeding John A. Kanas, the New York banker who led the bank's comeback following the financial crisis.

The Florida-based lender, one of the largest banks to fail during the crisis, was bought in 2009 by a group of private-equity firms, including W.L. Ross & Co., Carlyle Group LP, Blackstone Group LP and Centerbridge Partners.

BankUnited said Mr. Kanas intends to retire as president and chief executive on Dec. 31 but will stay on as board chairman.

The 45-year-old Rajinder P. Singh, who also part of the 2009 founding team, has held the title of operating chief since October 2010. He will be succeeded by Thomas M. Cornish, currently president for the Florida region. Mr. Cornish, 57, joined the bank in 2014.

Mr. Kanas, best known for building North Fork Bancorp into a regional-banking powerhouse in the 1990s, was installed as CEO and under his leadership BankUnited became a success story. Its initial public offering was the first stock sale by a bank that failed during the financial crisis.

The $27-a-share IPO valued the bank at $2.6 billion. Today, with more than $26 billion under assets, the bank is valued at $3.35 billion, according to FactSet, based on Wednesday's $32.15 closing price.

Robin Sidel contributed to this article.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 31, 2016 18:25 ET (22:25 GMT)

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