Bulletin # 2320
Week Ending August 8, 2008

This bulletin constitutes the only official notification you will receive from this office concerning any of the following applications. Any observations you may have are solicited. Any comments should be in writing to Howard F. Pitkin, Banking Commissioner, at the Connecticut Department of Banking, 260 Constitution Plaza, Hartford, CT 06103-1800 or via E-mail. Written comments will be considered only if they are received within ten days from the date of this bulletin.

Date	Bank	Location	Activity
8/05/08	First County Bank Stamford	700 Connecticut Avenue Norwalk, CT  06854	approved
8/07/08	Fairfield County Bank Ridgefield	840-850 East Main Street Norwalk, CT  06851	filed

Date	Credit Union	Location	Activity
8/06/08	Achieve Financial   Credit Union, Inc. Berlin	720 Pleasant Street Southington High School Southington, CT  06489	filed

On July 31, 2008, the Commissioner entered into a Settlement Agreement with Warshaw Capital, LLC d/b/a WC Financial (“WCF”).  The Settlement Agreement was based on an examination by the Consumer Credit Division.  As a result of such examination, the Commissioner alleged that WCF employed or retained at least four originators without registering them, in violation of Sections 36a-486(b) and         36a-511(b) of the 2008 Supplement to the General Statutes.  On June 23, 2008, WCF voluntarily made a contribution to the State Regulatory Registry LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”), in the amount of $4,000 to support the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, jointly sponsored by the CSBS and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.  Upon entry of the Settlement Agreement, the matter was resolved.

On August 5, 2008, the Commissioner entered a Consent Order Conditioning Effectiveness of Withdrawal of Application for Registration as Agent with respect to George Lemuel Divel, III, a broker-dealer agent of Capitol Securities Management, Inc.  On May 19, 2008, Divel’s employing firm had filed a Form U-5 (Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration) to withdraw Divel’s Connecticut application for registration as a broker-dealer agent.  The Consent Order alleged that, on November 21, 2007, the State of Maryland suspended Divel for three months from acting as a broker-dealer agent and investment adviser representative in Maryland and directed that he permanently cease and desist from regulatory violations (Case No. 2005-0299) based on findings that Divel engaged in dishonest or unethical practices by effecting unauthorized securities transactions in the trust accounts of two elderly clients following their deaths and accepting commissions for such unauthorized transactions.  The Consent Order rendered Divel’s application to withdraw his pending agent registration effective as of August 5, 2008 subject to certain conditions.  Pursuant to the Consent Order, Divel was barred from applying for registration or transacting business in or from Connecticut as a broker-dealer, agent, investment adviser or investment adviser agent, with leave to reapply for registration after seven years had elapsed since the entry of the Consent Order.  The Consent Order also required that Divel cease and desist from regulatory violations.

The Securities and Business Investments Division, in conjunction with the Securities Advisory Council to the Department, is sponsoring its 20th annual Securities Forum conference on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at the Sheraton Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut.  A timely and outstanding agenda of panel presentations, featuring expert speakers, will help financial industry professionals keep abreast of current and evolving regulatory developments.  Stephen A. Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will deliver the keynote address.  With more than 35 years of research and teaching to his credit, Dr. Ross has had a major impact on the field of finance, and has authored more than 100 related articles.  Among other things, he invented the Arbitrage Pricing Theory and conducted cutting edge studies in the areas of financial derivatives and interest rate models.  Models developed by Dr. Ross and his coworkers are now standards for pricing in major securities trading firms.  Dr. Ross is also the Chief Investment Officer and Principal of Ross Institutional Investors, LLC, a firm managing portfolios of alternative investments, and the Chairman of Compensation Valuation, Inc., a leading provider of option valuation services.  Dr. Ross is on the board of directors of the Freddie Mac where he chairs the Finance and Capital Deployment Committee.  The registration fee (which includes materials and luncheon) is $70 per person, but if you register by September 26, 2008, you qualify for the Early Bird discount of $60 per person.  Multiple attendees from the same firm also pay a discounted rate of $60.  To download a registration form and to read the planned agenda, go to:  http://www.ct.gov/dob/cwp/view.asp?a=2249&q=420578.

       Dated:  Tuesday, August 12, 2008