NewMil Bank, whose New Milford headquarters are shown above, opened a limited branch at the Pomperaug Woods assisted living complex in Southbury in April 2000. A limited branch is an office at a fixed location of a bank where banking business is conducted, other than at a main office, branch or mobile branch.

Doctors aren’t the only ones who can make house calls. More and more U.S. banks have started opening part-time branches that are easily accessible to customers who might have a tough time getting to their full-time offices. But the trend is not new in Connecticut, where several banks have been offering those kinds of services for years.

A number of Connecticut banks opened limited branches in assisted living communities or other areas geared toward the elderly between five and 10 years ago, after state law began allowing limited branches. And as the American population grows older and more states are permitting part-time branches, other banks have been following that lead. According to the Associated Press, banks across the country have been opening limited branches in living communities for the elderly.

“It’s something we’re bound to see more of as banks and all businesses target services to an aging baby-boom generation,” American Bankers Association spokeswoman Charlotte Birch told the AP.

In Connecticut, several banks have been maintaining successful limited branches – which is defined by state statute as an office at a fixed location of a bank where banking business is conducted, other than at a main office, branch or mobile branch – since the late 1990s.

New Milford-based NewMil Bank opened its limited branch at the Pomperaug Woods assisted living complex in Southbury in April 2000, said Diane Farrell, senior vice president for marketing for the bank.

It was the bank’s third location in Southbury – NewMil also has a regular branch and a branch based in a grocery store there. Bank executives decided to open the office in the assisted living community after the company that manages the community approached the bank and asked if they were interested in opening a branch there, Farrell said.

“They were trying to bring services in for their residents,” she said. “We thought it was a great opportunity.”

So NewMil opened a branch there in a simple office with a desk and some comfortable chairs. The office is in the main building at the community, but Farrell could not disclose the details of the agreement between the management and the bank.

Although the Pomperaug Woods location’s hours are limited, customers have access to all the services they would at a normal branch, Farrell said.

“It’s a full-service branch,” she said.

The branch has one staffer, who comes over from another branch one day a week for four hours. That’s usually enough time to cater to all the customers’ needs, but residents of Pomperaug Woods who can drive occasionally go to the bank’s other branches in Southbury.

“Usually, one day a week is enough for them,” Farrell said.

The bank also sponsors occasional events at the community, such as cocktail hours, Farrell said. In addition to the benefits of having another branch, having a bank in the community is helpful to the residents, many of whom are unable to drive.

“It makes life so much easier for them,” she said.

Few resources are required to operate the branch because the bank didn’t hire a new staffer, but borrows one from another branch, Farrell said.

‘Perfect’ Success
Wilton Bank in Wilton has a similar program. The bank has a limited branch – open for 90 minutes, once a week – in the Wilton assisted living community The Greens at Cannondale.

The bank opened the limited branch three or four years ago, said bank President Nikki Brown. It has been going better than she anticipated when the branch opened, she said.

“[It’s been] perfect,” Brown said. “I think it’s a win-win for both the bank, the home and the residents.”

Wilton Bank’s story is similar to NewMil Bank’s: The developer of the community approached the small bank when the community was built and the bank accepted the proposal.

The branch enjoys good deposits and is appreciated by its customers because it allows them to keep much of their independence, Brown said. And because many of the residents come to The Greens from out of town – usually because a relative lives in Wilton or nearby – the bank gets new customers from the situation.

The staffer in the limited branch and the bank executives also enjoy the arrangement because it allows them to interact more with some customers, Brown said.

“There’s a little extra time there spent with the customers,” she said. “They’re more like friends than customers.”

Bridgeport-based People’s Bank also has several limited branches in five assisted living communities in Stamford, Bridgeport, Bloomfield and West Hartford. The branches opened between 1994 and 2000 and not only are profitable for the bank, but also help People’s reach the elderly population, who are often “underbanked,” said People’s spokesman Brent DiGiorgio.