By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Dorinda Borer and state Rep. Treneé McGee, D-West Haven, joined New Haven Bank President and CEO Maureen A. Frank and board of directors Chairperson Rolan Joni Young for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the grand opening of the bank’s West Haven branch at 636 Campbell Ave. on Jan. 17.
The new branch — New Haven Bank’s second — has a drive-thru and is located at a former TD Bank near Elm Street in downtown West Haven. The branch is next door to a DOCS Urgent Care walk-in clinic.
The morning ceremony included welcoming remarks by Borer and was attended by branch manager Hala Urban, acting city Finance Director David R. Taylor and Steven Araujo, New Haven Bank’s executive vice president of risk management and operations.
Also marking the event were branch employees and Michael C. Kinne, New Haven Bank’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, along with Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce President Michael Moses and Simon McDonald, the chamber’s director of membership and marketing.
Since 2012, New Haven Bank, formerly Start Community Bank, has been the only Community Development Financial Institution bank in Connecticut.
According to the bank’s website, CDFI banks are “dedicated to promoting economic development by providing financial products and services to underserved people and communities.”
“The mission of these specialized community-based financial institutions is to develop long-term relationships with the communities they serve in order to promote financial literacy and deliver affordable loans for community members and small businesses,” according to the website.