Bank United, Salomon Form CRE Alliance

Bank United, Houston, has formed an alliance with New York-based Salomon Smith Barney to securitize commercial real estate loans originated by Bank United and other sources, Bank United has announced.Anthony J. Nocella, the bank's vice chairman, touted Salomon Smith Barney's "expertise in pricing, structuring, and distribution" and Bank United's "securitization experience and ability to originate large volumes of quality commercial real estate loans." The partnership should be "an important player in the real estate finance and commercial mortgage-backed securities market," he said. Lewis Ranieri, chairman of Bank United's parent company, Bank United Corp., was vice chairman of Salomon Brothers in the 1980s when he built mortgage-backed securities into "a Wall Street powerhouse business," Bank United said.