A group looking to form a bank in Connecticut has received approval from the state’s banking regulator.
Organizers of New Canaan Bank stated in a LinkedIn post Saturday that the Connecticut Department of Banking had given them a temporary certificate of approval.
The post said the organizers want to open the bank in the fourth quarter.
The group, which applied in late December to open the bank, is still awaiting conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The bank has six organizers: Frederick Afragola, Louis Garcia, Paul Kuehner, Joseph Rucci Jr., Thomas Ayoub and Anthony Domino Jr.
Afragola, who would serve as the proposed bank’s executive chairman, is chairman emeritus of Bank of New Canaan, according to his LinkedIn page. Garcia, the group’s proposed CEO, is a former managing director at CBAM, an alternative investment firm, based on his profile.
Organizers plan to raise up to $40 million in initial capital. Garcia and Kuehner were seeking permission from the state regulator to individually own between 10% and 24.9% of the proposed bank’s stock, the application said.
The bank will look to serve “consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses and nonprofit organizations looking for a local community bank that offers financial products and services tailored to fit their specific needs,” the application said.