This rendering depicts Darien Rowayton Bank’s permanent headquarters in Darien, which is still awaiting approval by that community’s Planning & Zoning Commission. The bank opened its first location, a temporary office at 979 Post Road in Darien, last month.
Four years after planning began, a Fairfield County bank incorporating wealth management, financial planning and retail banking opened its doors late last month.
Darien Rowayton Bank opened its first office at 979 Post Road in Darien on April 25. It is the first de novo commercial bank approved by the state of Connecticut that will carry, from its opening, trust services, financial and retirement planning and investment advisory capabilities, as well as traditional banking products.
The combination of such products from a bank’s inception is relatively unique, said John Carusone, president of the Hartford-based Bank Analysis Center, in an interview after the de novo was first announced.
“This is the only hybrid trust and bank where the business is as involved [in both aspects],” Carusone said. “In [the Bank Analysis Center’s] experience, it is unique and unusual.”
The bank’s location could be the key to its success. The market in Fairfield County is one of the most attractive in the country for the products and services Darien Bank’s organizers plan to offer, according to Carusone. Residents there are accustomed to sophisticated banking and financial services and Darien Rowayton Bank would offer that, he said.
Executives at the bank did not return phone calls, but in 2004, John Bowes – now Darien Rowayton’s president, chief executive officer and chairman – said the organizers of the bank did a lot of research into the area where they have set up shop. The combination of services will provide for the affluent people in Darien and surrounding communities. During the planning process, the organizers did a local survey that found interest in the idea, identifying municipalities around Darien and Norwalk – such as New Canaan and North Stamford – as a secondary market.
“Most banks don’t offer as complete a service,” Bowes said in 2004.
Smaller institutions don’t offer the services that Darien Rowayton Bank would, and most big banks don’t do it well, he said. That was part of the reason Bowes came up with the idea.
‘A Financial Center’
Bowes has a background in financial services, but this is the first time he has worked on a bank project. He is a former chief executive officer of the Chrysler Capital Corp. and also created the Lyon Credit Corp. for the French bank Credit Lyonnais. Lyon Credit Corp. was later sold. Since mid-2002, Bowes has been working full-time on the start-up of Darien Bank.
“We are delighted to be launching our new bank with the goal of creating meaningful relationships with the residents and businesses of the communities of Darien and Rowayton,” Bowes said in a prepared statement after the opening of the first office. “When we decided to establish our community’s hometown bank, we realized it would take a special financial institution to meet the needs of our demanding and sophisticated customer base. We are committed to becoming a financial center by offering a full-suite of products, outstanding personal service and responsive, local decision-making.”
The office at 979 Post Road is a temporary one, and the bank is opening a Rowayton office at 140 Rowayton Ave. – the construction of which is nearly finished – in June. Plans have been drawn up for a permanent Darien headquarters, and the bank is awaiting approval from the Darien Planning & Zoning Commission before building.
In addition to Bowes, the management team at Darien Rowayton Bank includes John L. Friend and Robert E. O’Brien Jr. Friend is executive vice president and chief operating officer of the bank. He started his banking career at The Bank of New York and was most recently senior vice president and regional manager of Hudson United Bank. O’Brien is executive vice president and chief administrative officer of the bank. He began his career at Putnam Trust Co. and was most recently senior vice president of operations of Greenwich Bank & Trust Co., where he worked with the originating team in launching the institution.
Darien Rowayton Bank is governed by a board of directors comprised of established members of the community. The owners of the bank represent a group of over 300 investors, more than 95 percent of whom are area residents. No one investor owns more than a 10 percent equity stake in the bank, a strategy designed to serve the best interests of each community.
“Our management team of experienced private and commercial bankers has the vision to lead Darien Rowayton Bank and to establish new directions and dimensions in community banking,” Bowes said in a prepared statement. “We are also proud to be supported by a group of founders and directors who are leaders in their communities. They are committed to the bank’s vitality and success and have been instrumental in providing guidance in the bank’s formation and in its product offerings.”
