Business
‘New Canaan Bank’ To Open on Elm Street
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New Canaan Bank, a new venture founded by a group of town residents, is on track to open on Elm Street in 2022, officials say. Delivering traditional and digital banking services to residents and businesses in New Canaan and greater Fairfield County, it will be “a hometown bank that is relationship-oriented and focused on our community,” one of the founders, Fred Afragola, said in a press release.
Afragola had served as The Bank of New Canaan’s president, CEO and chairman from that bank’s opening in 2002 until 2008 and continued as a director until 2017. He will serve as executive chairman of New Canaan Bank. Its organizers also include Lou Garcia, Dr. Thomas Ayoub, attorney Joseph Rucci, Anthony Domino and Paul Kuehner, who will serve as chairman of the Board of Directors, the press release said. The founding directors earlier this year filed applications with the Connecticut Department of Banking and the FDIC for deposit insurance, and the state agency on July 7 issued them a Temporary Certificate of Authority, according to the press release.
Asked what the news means for locals, Garcia, who will serve as New Canaan Bank’s CEO, said during Saturday’s Sidewalk Sale, “The community-centric bank is what will be our mission.”
“The New Canaan Bank will be the first Connecticut-chartered community bank to launch in more than a decade and will deliver the personalized service and community engagement that New Canaan and Fairfield County residents expect in a relationship and service-oriented bank,” Garcia said in the press release. “We are thankful to the Connecticut Department of Banking for their guidance and support.