Greenwich will soon have its own community bank. The Bank of Greenwich, a de novo institution, last week opened its initial stock offering to the public.
Organizers originally had planned to start the offering in September, but delayed it until they had secured a location for the bank. They sent out letters to potential investors in November.
“It was a normal routine,” Robert J. Oca, an organizer who will be the bank’s chief executive officer, said of the process.
The response to the November letters was “overwhelmingly positive,” Oca added.
The institution, whose headquarters will be located at 165 Mason St. in Greenwich, will be a full-service commercial bank and will cater to area residents and small to medium-sized businesses. Organizers say they hope the promise of individualized service and residents’ desire for a true hometown bank will help the institution succeed.
“Our goal is to make the financial lives of individuals and small to mid-sized businesses better,” Oca said in a prepared statement when the de novo was first announced. “Banks should offer outstanding service and think creatively to help customers achieve financial success. Our customers will feel valued because we know they are valuable members of our community. We will be helping our community continue to grow and prosper.”
‘Enormously Excited’
Organizers are hoping the bank will succeed because of its strong local ties.
“The Bank of Greenwich is focused on our local community, which makes the positive response from the Greenwich community so important,” said Stephen C. Thurlow, chairman of the organizers’ group, in a prepared statement. “We are very encouraged by the interest shown in the offering so far. Now our goal is to expand the offering to include even more of our neighbors.”
Greenwich was once home to several 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 Co., now operates as a division of The Bank of New York.
“The recent mergers of banks in our area reinforces our belief that a bank, based in Greenwich and managed by local individuals with a vested interest in the community’s well-being, will be a welcome addition to the town’s landscape,” Oca said in a prepared statement.
The stock offering will be open to the public until April 14.
In addition to Oca being named the new bank’s chief executive officer, organizers have chosen a chief financial officer, Oca said. The rest of the staff hasn’t been hired yet.
“We’re enormously excited and very optimistic,” he said.
The bank’s organizers also plan to open a branch in the Cos Cob section of Greenwich at the beginning of 2007.
Oca has more than 30 years of commercial banking experience. He was president, chief executive officer and organizer of the Bank of Westport, which opened in 1998 and was acquired by Fairfield County Bank in 2004. A lifelong resident of Greenwich, he was also president, chief executive officer and director of Connecticut Community Bank.
Organizer James E. Calkins also has been in the commercial banking industry for more than 30 years. He served as executive vice president, chief lending officer, director and organizer of the Bank of Westport. He was also senior vice president, chief lending officer and director of Greenwich-based Connecticut Community Bank.
Thurlow is a former NFL running back who played for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. He spent 35 years on Wall Street and recently retired from his position as a director of the UBS Investment Bank in Stamford.
Other organizers are George D’Angelo, John Fareri, William Gallagher, Noel Levine, Anthony Melillo, Jr., Richard Sontag and Thomas Steen.
