Congrats to the entire Start Community Bank team on the FDIC approval that will allow the Bank to OPEN for Business

[Lee Cruz]

FDIC Grants Approval for Deposit Insurance

At a news conference December 6, 2010, CEO William Placke announced that Start Community Bank has received its final federal approval to prepare to open its doors to New Haven area families and businesses. On Friday, December 3, Placke was notified by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that Start was being granted the deposit insurance necessary to open for business. That approval, together with the previously received approvals from the State of Connecticut Department of Banking and the Federal Reserve Bank, sets the stage for Start to begin planning for a mid-December soft opening. Information about the bank's grand opening to the public, most likely in early January 2011, will be forthcoming.

Start Community Bank's approvals are particularly noteworthy as this becomes only the third de novo bank in the United States to date to achieve approval by the federal regulatory agencies to open for business in 2010. To put this into perspective, in more normal times, the average is 100 banks per year.

In his remarks to the many members of the press and of our community in attendance, Mr. Placke said:

"We have in the audience committed, passionate partners who share our Start Community Bank dream - to be a catalyst for change in our community; to succeed with you, to thrive with you, to journey with you towards the goals of financial literacy, home ownership, small business growth and support, and , as important as anything, wealth creation.

The genesis of Start Community Bank, which goes back to 2003, is rooted in the belief that a locally owned institution with a culture of community development is essential to its economic well-being.

All of these people, all of the community, stood up and were heard. The result was a commitment of $25 million as the capital foundation for a community development bank."

Bill then introduced a number of supporters, each of whom spoke eloquently of their excitement about the bank's opening, including:

John Vuoso, owner of Lee Myles Transmissions on Whalley Avenue, and the president of the Whalley Special Service District, who presented a check to open an account with us;

Darrell Boyd, a leader of the Greater New Haven Professional Business Association, who thanked Tom Whitbread for his support even before we opened;

Che Dawson, the director of the city's Youth At Work Program. Start Community Bank ha partnered with the program to conduct financial literacy classes to over 1100 students, many of them preparing for their first job. Students of our neighbor, Hillhouse High School, attended the event in support of financial literacy initiatives in the public schools;

Linda Townsend Maier, head of the Greater Dwight Development Corporation, who spoke of the need of a bank that supported local development and local businesses;

Evelyn Streater-Frizzle, a local resident on Hobart Street in the Whalley Avenue neighborhood, who remarked on the boost that the bank will give to her community;

Johanna Maldonado, from the Spanish American Merchants Association, who made her remarks in both English and Spanish.

Bill then ended his remarks by saying:

"Thank you again for coming and for sharing this important news with us. I suppose you can tell we think of this as OUR New Haven, and Start Community Bank will be OUR bank. So what's next?

Our plans are to have a soft opening in mid December to test our systems and to make sure all the kinks are worked out. We plan to open our doors for business with the public the first week of January. Stay tuned for the details!"