Fairfield County Business Journal 030915

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL March 9, 2015 | VOL. 51, No. 10

21 | FUND RUN YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS

24 | NEWSMAKERS westfaironline.com

Forgive and forget

Santander changes policy on screening accounts BY LEIF SKODNICK lskodnick@westfairinc.com

Family-owned

BUSINESS AWARDS

Keynote speaker Stew Leonard

➤ See page 12

IT’S SOMETHING APPROXIMATELY 93 PERCENT of American households take for granted — access to retail financial services such as checking and savings accounts as well as borrowing from their local bank. For the 7.7 percent of households listed in a 2014 survey conducted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as “unbanked,” it is common to rely on alternative financial services such as nonbank check cashing, prepaid debit cards and payday lending, which can have onerous terms and high fees. And when those households do try to open a bank account, negative financial history reports from ChexSystems, a consumer reporting agency, often raise a red flag with financial institu-

tions, forcing the households to remain among the ranks of the unbanked. While the banks use such reports to weed out customers who may pose a financial risk, a red flag raised by a consumer reporting agency can often take years to go away, forcing the potential customer away from mainstream financial institutions. The use of consumer reports to evaluate account applications has come under scrutiny from state regulators and consumer advocates, but in the past year, three major banks — Capital One, CitiBank and most recently, Santander — reached agreements with the office of New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to change how the banks use reports from ChexSystems to screen customers. The attorney general’s Feb. 20 » BANKING, page 4

Lacrosse shoots, scores

NEW FAIRFIELD U. STADIUM SHOWCASES ‘FASTEST SPORT ON TWO FEET’ BY LEIF SKODNICK lskodnick@westfairinc.com TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO, WHEN GENE DORIS came to Fairfield University to take over as athletic director, the lacrosse team’s facilities were markedly different than they are today. “We still had a fledgling program, playing on a field with boundaries set up on the day of the game, temporary bleachers, no lights and a portable scoreboard,” Doris said.

The program has come a long way from those humble days, and with the opening this spring of Rafferty Field, a new $10 million lacrosse-only facility, Fairfield’s program is an example of the growth of the sport across the country. Named for former Fairfield University trustee Lawrence Rafferty, class of ‘64, his daughter Kathleen Rafferty Hay, class of ‘03 and his son Michael Rafferty, the stadium was designed by CannonDesign of New York City and built by

Gilbane Construction on the site of Alumni Field. Doris said the stadium, which will seat 3,500, features an artificial playing surface, lights, bathrooms, concession stands, a press box and locker rooms. Most important, Doris said, is that it was built entirely with donor funds. “That’s why the dedication will be one of the most significant dedications we’ve had at this university,” Doris told the Business Journal. » LACROSSE, page 4

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