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sSB302 / File No. 126 1
General Assembly File No. 126
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 302
Senate, March 23, 2026
The Committee on Banking reported through SEN. MILLER of
the 27th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the
Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT REVISING VARIOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN
APPROVALS BY THE BANKING COMMISSIONER AND
CONNECTICUT BANK BRANCH APPLICATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 36a -34 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2026): 3
(b) The commissioner shall not grant any approval under section 36a-4
125, subsections (b), (c) and (d) of section 36a -145, as amended by this 5
act, section 36a -181, section 36a -411 or subdivisions (1) and (2) of 6
subsection (a) of section 36a -412 unless the commissioner finds, in 7
accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to chapter 54, that (1) 8
based on the most recent applicable performance evaluation and any 9
related information required by the commissioner, the entity has a 10
record of compliance with the requirements of federal CRA, sections 11
36a-30 to 36a -33, inclusive, to the extent applicable, and applicable 12
consumer protection laws; and (2) except as otherwise provided in this 13
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subsection, if the entity, and in the case of an approval pursuant to 14
section 36a -411, the bank or any subsidiary bank of the Connecticut 15
holding company, received any overall rating other than an assigned 16
rating of "outstanding" on its most recent applicable community 17
reinvestment performance evaluation, or, in the case of an approval 18
under subsection (b), (c) or (d) of section 36a -145, as amended by this 19
act, if the entity received an overall rating of "needs to improve" or 20
"substantial noncompliance" on its most recent applicable community 21
reinvestment performance evaluation, the resulting entity will provide 22
adequate services to meet the banking needs of all community residents, 23
including low-income residents and moderate -income residents to the 24
extent permitted by its charter, in accordance with a plan submitted by 25
the applicant to the commissioner, in such form and containing such 26
information as the commissioner may require, or, if acceptable to the 27
commissioner, in accordance with an approved strategic plan prepared 28
under federal CRA, or the relevant portion thereof, that is submitted by 29
the applicant to the commissioner. Upon receiving any such plan, the 30
commissioner shall make the plan available for public inspection and 31
comment at the Department of Banking and cause notice of its 32
submission and availability for inspection and comment to be published 33
in the department's weekly bulletin. With the concurrence of the 34
commissioner, the applicant or applicants shall publish, in the form of a 35
legal advertisement in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in 36
the area, notice of such plan's submission and availability for public 37
inspection and comment. The notice shall state that the inspection and 38
comment period will last for a period of thirty days from the date of 39
publication. The commissioner shall not make such finding until the 40
expiration of such thirty -day period. In making such finding, the 41
commissioner shall, unless clearly inapplicable, consider, among other 42
factors, whether the plan identifies specific unmet credit and consumer 43
banking needs in the local community and specifies how such needs will 44
be satisfied, provides for sufficient distribution of banking services 45
among branches or satellite devices, or both, located in low -income 46
neighborhoods, contains adequate assurances that banking services will 47
be offered on a nondiscriminatory basis and demonstrates a 48
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commitment to extend credit for housing, small business and consumer 49
purposes in low -income neighborhoods. The submission of such plan 50
shall not be required in the case of an approval under subsection (d) of 51
section 36a-145, provided, the commissioner may require the filing of 52
such information in lieu of a plan as the commissioner deems 53
appropriate. If the commissioner determines that an applicant is an 54
eligible entity, the commissioner may (A) exempt such applicant from 55
the requirement that such applicant file a plan, or (B) require such 56
information in lieu of a plan as the commissioner deems appropriate. 57
Except with respect to an approval pursuant to section 36a -145, as 58
amended by this act, and section 36a -181, the commissioner shall not 59
approve the transaction if the transaction would result in a monopoly, 60
or would be in furtherance of any combination or conspiracy to 61
monopolize or attempt to monopolize the business of banking in this 62
state or if the commissioner determines that the effect of the proposed 63
transaction may be to substantially lessen competition, or would tend to 64
create a monopoly, or would be in restraint of trade, unless the 65
commissioner finds that the anticompetitive effects of the proposed 66
transaction are clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable 67
effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and needs of the 68
community to be served. 69
Sec. 2. Subsection (n) of section 36a -145 of the general statutes is 70
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 71
1, 2026): 72
(n) Upon receipt of an application pursuant to subdivision (1) of 73
subsection (b) of this section, subdivisions (1) and (4) of subsection (c) 74
of this section, subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this section or 75
subsection (j) of this section, the commissioner shall cause notice of the 76
application to be published in the department's weekly bulletin. The 77
commissioner shall determine whether the applicant is an eligible 78
entity, as defined in section 36a -34, as amended by this act , and shall 79
promptly notify the applicant of such determination. An application by 80
an eligible entity shall be deemed approved on the [twelfth] fifth 81
business day after expiration of the comment period provided in the 82
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department's weekly bulletin, unless the commissioner informs the 83
applicant, in writing, prior to such [twelfth] fifth business day, that (1) 84
an adverse comment has been received that warrants additional 85
investigation or review; (2) the application presents a significant 86
community reinvestment or compliance concern; (3) the application 87
presents a significant supervisory concern or raises significant legal or 88
policy issues; or (4) the application requires additional information. The 89
application may be deemed approved prior to the expiration of the 90
[twelfth] fifth business day if the commissioner issues a written notice 91
of the commissioner's intent not to disapprove the application. 92
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 36a-34(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 36a-145(n)
BA Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill makes adjustments to Connecticut bank branch applications
and shortens certain notification timeframes, resulting in no fiscal
impact to the state.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 302
AN ACT REVISING VARIOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN
APPROVALS BY THE BANKING COMMISSIONER AND
CONNECTICUT BANK BRANCH APPLICATIONS.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1. eliminates the requirement that Connecticut banks with a
“satisfactory” Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating
submit a plan for meeting community banking needs when
applying to the Department of Banking (DOB) to establish a
branch location in the state ( including a limited or special need
limited branch) or convert a limited branch to a branch, or vice
versa, and
2. generally shortens, by seven days, the timeframe for the
commissioner to notify banks applying to establish a Connecticut
or out -of-state branch of his determination before the
applications are deemed approved.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMUNITY BANKING NEEDS PLAN
Under current law, the commissioner cannot approve certain types
of applications from entities that received a rating other than
“outstanding” on their most recent community reinvestment
performance evaluation unless they submit a plan illustrating how they
will provide adequate services to meet the banking needs of all
community residents, including those with low or moderate
income. This requirement applies to entities seeking various DOB
approvals, including to (1) open a Connecticut branch, (2) merge or
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consolidate with a Connecticut bank, or (3) organize a holding company.
The bill exempts any entity with a “satisfactory” rating on its most
recent applicable community reinvestment performance evaluation
from this requirement when applying to (1) establish a Connecticut
branch location, including a limited or special need lim ited branch, or
(2) convert a limited branch to a branch, or vice versa. It retains the
requirement for applicants for other DOB approvals.
Existing law authorizes the commissioner to waive this requirement
or require the submission of alternative information if the entity has at
least a “satisfactory” rating and meets certain other criteria (i.e. for
“eligible entities;” see BACKGROUND — Eligible Entities). The law also
waives this requirement for applications to establish a mobile branch in
the state, but allows the commissioner to require applicants to submit
other information instead of a plan.
TIMEFRAME FOR BRANCH APPLICATION APPROVALS
By law, when the commissioner receives an application from a
Connecticut bank to establish a branch here (including a limited, special
need limited, or mobile branch) or outside of the state (including a
limited or mobile branch), he must publish a notice of the application in
the department’s weekly bulletin, determine if the applicant is an
eligible entity, and promptly notify the applicant of his determination.
The bill requires that the application be deemed approved on the 5th,
rather than the 12th, business day after the end of the comment period
provided in the department’s weekly bulletin, unless the commissioner
informs the applicant, in writing, before the n of certain facts (e.g., that
an adverse comment has been received that warrants additional
investigation or the application requires additional information). It
similarly allows the application to be deemed approved before the end
of the 5th, rather than the 12th, day if the commissioner issues a written
notice of his intent not to disapprove it.
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BACKGROUND
Eligible Entities
By law, an “eligible entity” is an applicant that:
1. received a composite rating of one or two under the Uniform
Financial Institutions Rating System as a result of its most recent
safety and soundness examination;
2. received a compliance rating of one or two on its most recent
compliance examination;
3. received a satisfactory or better rating on its most recent
community reinvestment performance evaluation;
4. is well capitalized, as determined under federal law;
5. is not subject to a cease and desist order, consent order, prompt
correction action directive, written agreement, memorandum of
understanding, or other administrative agreement with its
primary state or federal banking regulator; and
6. is not subject to any formal or informal administrative action by
that regulator.
CRA Ratings
In its CRA ratings, DOB gives each state -chartered bank a score of
outstanding, satisfactory, needs to improve, or substantial
noncompliance. As of December 31, 2025, four banks have an
outstanding rating; one has a needs to improve rating; and the
remainder (18) have a satisfactory rating. No banks received a
substantial noncompliance rating.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Banking Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 0 (03/10/2026)