| 
For the first time in nearly a decade, there is a proposal to form a new bank in Massachusetts.
Green Apple Bank & Trust filed an application with the FDIC on April 27 for a de novo trust company situated in Western and Central Massachusetts. American Banker was first to report the news yesterday.
According to the application, the bank plans to apply for a state charter and launch a $25 million to $30 million capital raise by the end of the second quarter of this year. The bank at this time expects the capital campaign to be completed in a private placement offering.
“The bank will be a full service community bank offering retail and commercial banking services typically found in traditional community banks with an emphasis on commercial lending and commercial real estate lending,” the application states.
The bank also plans to offer a product for the unbanked and underbanked in the form of a “safe” checking account with companion savings for customers that wish to protect against overdraft fees. The account will offer most of the same services as a traditional checking account, but will not come with checks or the ability to overdraw the account at an ATM or merchant point of sale.
Longtime New England community banker Jeffrey Sullivan would be the bank’s CEO, president, organizer and hold a seat on the bank’s board of directors. Sullivan is currently president of Springfield-based M&M Consulting, a full service risk management firm serving the banking, credit union and financial services industries, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, he worked at the Hartford, Connecticut-based United Bank for 11 years, where he was executive vice president, CLO and the bank’s president for a short time.
Frank Fitzgerald would be chairman of the bank’s board of directors.
The bank proposes to open a 4,200 square-feet main office at 1 Monarch Place in Springfield, where it will have work stations for up to 21 employees. The bank also plans to apply for a full service branch at 908 Allen St. in Springfield.
