Calling all bankers.
The state is looking for Connecticut banks to participate in a new loan guaranty program for energy conservation purchases by nonprofits, small businesses and individuals.
The state is allocating up to $18 million in bonded funds for the program, which will provide low-interest loans for the purchase and installation of insulation, alternative energy devices, energy conservation materials, replacement furnaces and boilers, and technologically advanced energy-conserving equipment.
“This has the potential of benefiting many nonprofits and small businesses in the state that need to get access to capital,” said Jeffrey Asher, the executive director of the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, which is overseeing the program. “It will help companies reduce costs and their carbon footprint.”
The Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, or CHEFA, is the state’s self-funded, quasi-public agency that issues tax-exempt bonds on behalf of nonprofit institutions.
Asher said it has not been determined how large the loan guarantees will be. He said he’s aiming for a 20 percent guarantee, which would leverage about $90 million in total loans.
The loans by statue can be made to nonprofits, to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees and to individuals.
“We hope to negotiate as low a guarantee as possible so we have that much more money to lend,” Asher said.
Asher said they don’t have any banks lined up to participate yet, but his office, and members of the energy committee will be recruiting banks in the coming weeks. He said they will likely be targeting smaller regional lenders, and even look at some energy conservation companies that do their own lending.
Credit unions may also participate in the program.
CBT takes former Wachovia space
The Connecticut Bank & Trust Company is expanding its presence in the Capital City, with the opening of a new bank branch in St. Francis Hospital. The office, at 114 Woodland St., is a full-service banking center on the second floor of the hospital, located on the corridor leading from the parking garage to the information desk.
The new facility will offer a wide range of banking and financial services to the physicians, staff and vendors working at the hospital and the adjacent medical office building.
“We believe that the added convenience of ‘bank at work’ will have strong appeal to everyone connected with this large facility,” said David Lentini, the president and CEO of CBT.
The space inside St. Francis was formerly held by Wachovia Bank, which did not renew its lease and left in early June, said Anson C. Hall, treasurer of CBT.
Wachovia was bought out by California-based Wells Fargo in 2008, and its branches in Connecticut are in the process of being rebranded.
Hall said the branch presented a unique business opportunity, giving CBT access to many different medical practices within the hospital, as well as thousands of St. Francis employees.
CBT moved into the space and opened for business June 23, just a few weeks after Wachovia left. The fast turnaround was helped by the fact CBT had to do few design changes to the space, he said.
“Branching today is not the big, complex operation it was 10 years ago,” Hall said. “Banks are looking for smaller, more compact branches nowadays.”
Initially, the office will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with ATM service and night drop available around the clock.
CBT, which is the only Hartford-based lender in the state, operates eight bank offices in Glastonbury, West Hartford, Vernon, Newington, Windsor and Rocky Hill.
FDIC orders changes
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has ordered a small Greenwich community bank to raise its capital ratios and re-assess its management and staff, according to a regulatory filing.
The First Bank of Greenwich, which has $55.8 million in assets, was told by the FDIC last month that it must boost its capital position and/or maintain certain levels of capital within 120 days to satisfy regulatory minimums.
The FDIC also ordered the bank to raise capital from a third party source within 60 days and map out a strategic plan for the next four years.
Greenwich’s board of directors must also increase its participation in the bank’s affairs. The bank also cannot declare or pay out a dividend without regulatory approval.
Earlier this year, New Haven-based The Community’s Bank was issued a similar order. Wethersfield-based The Connecticut River Community Bank has also come under scrutiny for troubled assets in its portfolio.
There have been no bank failures in Connecticut since 2008, although there has been some merger and acquisition activity among smaller institutions.
Greg Bordonaro writes the Financial Sense column every other week. Reach him at gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com.
