A longtime New Canaan banking executive has joined a group looking to open a new state-chartered bank in Connecticut.

Frederick R. Afragola has joined five other men in applying to organize a bank called The New Canaan Bank, according to the Connecticut Department of Banking’s weekly bulletin. The Department of Banking received the application on Dec. 21.

The new bank will be located at 208 Elm St., which is the site of a former Bankwell branch. Bankwell had said earlier this year that it would open new headquarters at 258 Elm St. and close the 208 Elm St. branch.

Afragola was the founding chairman, president and CEO of Bankwell’s predecessor, the Bank of New Canaan, according to his LinkedIn profile. The bank opened in 2002 and changed its name to Bankwell after merging with The Bank of Fairfield in 2013. Afragola was on Bankwell’s board of directors until 2017.

Afragola was previously president and CEO of New Canaan Bank and Trust Co., joining the bank in 1994 after a career in manufacturing, according to LinkedIn. New Canaan Bank and Trust was acquired in 1998 by Summit Bancorp, which was based in New Jersey and later acquired by Fleet Bank.

The group looking to start the new bank also includes Louis A. Garcia, Paul J. Kuehner, Joseph J. Rucci Jr., Thomas V. Ayoub and Anthony J. Domino Jr.

Other than challenger and trust banks, the last de novo bank in Connecticut was Start Community Bank, now known as New Haven Bank, which opened in 2010.

The Commercial Record has reached out to The New Canaan Bank and the Department of Banks for more information.