BANKING
GROWTH PLANS -- Palm Beach-based Lydian Bank & Trust plans to use proceeds from the sale of its Lydian Wealth Management to City National Corp. to add 15 branches in Florida by 2009.
EVENT INSURANCE
COVERING YOUR BASES -- Visit Florida, the state's tourism marketing agency, is extending its Cover Your Event insurance program through 2008 for meeting and convention planners. The program started after the active 2004 hurricane season as a way to assure planners it was safe to schedule events in Florida. The insurance provides coverage up to $200,000 at no cost for meetings scheduled during August through October that are canceled because of catastrophic weather.
TECH TRANSFER
UF RANKING -- The University of Florida ranks No. 5 in a Milken Institute ranking of universities' ability to turn world-class biotech research into licensing income and business startups. The top four in tech transfer, in order, are Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California system, California Institute of Technology and Stanford University. The study, "Mind to Market: A Global Analysis of University Biotechnology Transfer and Commercialization," found that for every $1 invested in office of technology transfer staff, universities receive more than $6 in licensing income.