A group of organizers is seeking regulatory approval to launch Dorado Bank, a proposed Puerto Rico-chartered bank that would focus on residential mortgage lending, housing rehabilitation and digital banking.
Organizers of the proposed Dorado Bank applied on May 26 with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. Its proposed parent company is Dorado Bank Financial Holdings.
The application presents Dorado as a traditional community bank with a modern delivery model. It would focus on single-family, multifamily and residential rehabilitation loans, funded by local retail and commercial deposits. It plans to market and provide products electronically through online banking and an app.
The organizers argue that the banking market has become heavily concentrated, noting that the number of banks on the island fell from 21 in 1995 to six in 2024, while the top three banks holding 92% of Puerto Rico’s deposits.
That concentration argument is central to the proposed bank’s public-interest case. The organizers are presenting the bank as a new local option in a market where fewer institutions are competing for deposits, loans and relationships.
Dorado’s proposed lending strategy is tied closely to Puerto Rico’s housing needs. The application says new housing construction on the island is occurring mainly at the high end of the market, while there remains a large stock of repossessed single-family homes and multifamily condos in urban areas that need repair, renovation and rehabilitation. Dorado plans to serve specialist developers and investors active in that market, including through shorter-term financing of 36 to 60 months.
Dorado’s founder said its lending products would be focused on housing rehabilitation and calibrated to help the bank qualify as a community development financial institution (CDFI). The proposed bank also intends to seek designation as a minority depository institution (MDI).
The proposed CEO is Denis Vaz, a 35-year banking veteran with 10 years of leadership experience in the Puerto Rico banking market. Thomas James Axon Jr. is listed as the proposed chair and head of business development.