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As Connecticut cut red tape for the formation of new banks, one of the newest in Fairfield County sold a large stake just months after coming under federal scrutiny for its capital ratios.
This summer, the Connecticut General Assembly gave the Connecticut Department of Banking the power to approve new banks on an expedited basis, hoping to help investors pool capital rapidly to acquire troubled banks nationally and turn them around.
Earlier this month, New York-based Alcar L.L.C. disclosed plans to spend $15 million to acquire a major stake in Darien Rowayton Bank, founded only in 2006 and building a $4 million headquarters on Darien's main retail strip.
Last spring, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a 25-page cease-and-desist order over what it termed were "unsafe or unsound banking practices," including being inadequately capitalized, operating without an adequate loan-review program and failing...