If everything goes according to bank organizers’ plans, this year might be the biggest for startup banks in the past 15 years.

The organizers of the de novo Bank of Greenwich are gearing up for their initial stock offering, securing real estate for the bank and adding some new faces to the bank’s leadership after receiving a temporary charter from the state Department of Banking on June 30.

Also in organizational stages are three other de novo Connecticut banks, all of which have received temporary state charters. New Haven-based Higher One Bank, which specializes in providing ID cards that double as debit cards to college students, could be open by the end of the summer, organizers said in May. New London-based Bank of Southeastern Connecticut, sister bank to the successful, nearly 4-year-old New Haven institution The Bank of Southern Connecticut, is set to open during the later months of this year. And the organizers of the Darien Rowayton Bank, which will offer financial planning services and wealth management, as well as traditional banking services, hope one of their two planned branches also will be up and running by the end of this year. The bank has raised its minimum required amount of capital, $11.5 million, but is keeping open the investment offering for about another month, said Chief Executive Officer John Bowes.

“It’s going well,” he said.

While the waits for final approvals from the state and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. can vary, all four de novo banks hope to open sometime in 2005. The last time four or more state-chartered de novos opened in one year was in 1989, when five new banks opened, according to the Department of Banking.

The Bank of Greenwich is the most recent recipient of its temporary charter and will start its stock offering next month.

“A number of things are moving along in a very positive way,” said Robert Oca, president and CEO of the Bank of Greenwich. “We seem to be on target.”

The bank will be a full-service commercial institution with its headquarters in Greenwich, and will serve area residents and small to medium-sized businesses. Organizers hope the promise of individualized service and residents’ desire for a true hometown bank will help the institution succeed.

Local Niche

Greenwich was once home to several locally based banks, but many were acquired or merged earlier this decade. The Greenwich Bank & Trust Co. opened there in 1998, but merged in 2003 with the Westport National Bank, forming Connecticut Community Bank. Another bank, Putnam Trust, now operates as a division of The Bank of New York.

Oca and the other organizers said they have identified a location for the bank but are not yet revealing it. They also recently have added people to the bank’s leadership team.

The organizers have received a positive response from the community, they said.

“Since announcing our plans, the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Stephen C. Thurlow, chairman of the organizer’s group, in a prepared statement. “This is the right time for a commercial bank run by people who have strong ties to the community. We can see that the banking industry is falling short of client needs in Greenwich. We can provide excellent service and help small businesses accomplish their goals by giving them the support and flexibility they need to be successful.”

The organizer group includes Thurlow, a former NFL running back who worked on Wall Street for 35 years and recently retired from his position as a director of the UBS Investment Bank in Stamford, and Oca, who has more than 30 years of commercial banking experience and has served as president and CEO of several area banks, including the former Connecticut Community Bank in Greenwich..

In addition to Oca and Thurlow, the group of organizers includes John J. Fareri, Anthony J. Melillo, Jr., Thomas A. Steen, Richard M. Sontag and James E. Calkins.

“We are very pleased the Connecticut Bank Chartering Authority reviewed our application favorably,” said Oca in a prepared statement. “We are on track to being open for business by the end of this year. We are closer than ever to making the financial lives of individuals and small to mid-sized businesses better in our area. Banks should offer outstanding service and think creatively to help customers achieve financial success. Our customers will realize that we consider them valuable members of our community because of the special treatment they will receive.”