New Haven Independent

The tentatively titled First City Bank was originally supposed to open this January. Modeled on not-for-profit lenders like Chicago’s South Shore, New Haven’s newest bank will have a mission of spurring development in poorer neighborhoods by lending to home-purchasers and small-business owners who otherwise might have trouble landing loans.

The bank’s plans had to be put on hold when the president, Chandler Howard, left in September to find another job. (Click here to read about that.) The bank’s organizers — who got the money to create First City when New Haven’s last major depositor-owned mutual savings bank converted into publicly-owned NewAlliance — put efforts to obtain a state charter on hold until they could find a new president.

They’ve found just the person, Mark Sklarz, head of the search committee, said Thursday.

Sklarz said the candidate, chosen after interviews with a half-dozen potential bank chiefs, has an “extensive bank background” in Connecticut, though not New Haven. He said he can’t publicly identify the person until his committee completes due diligence and negotiates a compensation package.

“I feel confident we will be able to announce his engagement” within weeks, Sklarz said. “Then we can proceed with applying for a charter.” He called the finalist “an inspiring leader to help us achieve the goals of community banking.”

“It’s going to be a challenge in this economy. No question about it,” Sklarz said. “That’s what projects like this are all about.”