WASHINGTON — Senator Dodd, trailing in presidential polls, ran ahead of his Democratic rivals in the race for money in the last quarter of 2006, propelled by contributions from the financial-services industry that he oversees.

Donations from employees of American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. helped Mr. Dodd, the new chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, raise $3 million over the final three months of last year, according to Federal Election Commission records. The Connecticut Democrat raised more than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican — even edging Senator Clinton of New York.

All told, employees of financial-services firms contributed more than $1 million of Mr. Dodd’s total. The Senate banking panel “is a juice committee,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen, a Washington group that supports tougher ethics laws. “The industry feels the pressure to give because this is the chairman with oversight over their business affairs.”

Mr. Dodd, 62, said in an interview that he has long-standing ties to members of the financial community. “This is not a newfound relationship,” he said. “These people know me best. They’ve worked with me. I’ve worked with them. We’ve been in agreement on various issues; we’ve been in disagreement on various issues over the years.”

Employees of Citigroup, the biggest American financial-services company, and their spouses gave $100,350 between October 1 through December 31, and the company’s political action committee contributed $5,000. Employees of AIG, the world’s biggest insurer, gave $76,100; at Merrill Lynch, employees and spouses gave $45,500. All three companies are based in New York.

Almost half of the $375,971 in PAC money Mr. Dodd raised after the November 7 election that gave Democrats control of Congress came from industries under his committee’s jurisdiction.

Jim Jordan, a Democratic consultant who is advising Mr. Dodd’s campaign, said donors get nothing but good government in return for their money. “Obviously, there is, and will be, no connection between his fund-raising activities and his official duties,” Mr. Jordan said.

The president of Rohatyn & Associates LLC in New York, Felix Rohatyn, says he and his wife have donated to Mr. Dodd for years, in part because of a personal relationship cemented during Mr. Rohatyn’s time as the American ambassador to France.

“Chris is a very close and very old friend of ours and, I think, extremely capable,” said Mr. Rohatyn, who gave $2,100. “Chris is very pro-growth; he is pro-business.”

Mr. Dodd last week cited his fund-raising prowess as evidence he will be able to compete with other Democratic presidential hopefuls like Mrs. Clinton, 59; Senator Obama, 45, of Illinois; and a former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee, John Edwards, 53. “We will be competitive financially,” Mr. Dodd said in a statement.

In the last quarter of 2006, Mrs. Clinton raised $2.8 million and Mr. Obama $105,281 through their Senate campaigns. Mr. Edwards didn’t start raising money for his presidential campaign until January.

A CNN poll of Democrats last month gave Mrs. Clinton 34% support, Mr. Obama 18%, and Mr. Edwards 15%. Mr. Dodd polled 1%. “I’m competing with the margin of error in most polls,” Mr. Dodd told the Hartford Courant last week.

AIG spokesman Joe Norton declined to comment on any political contributions by the company or employees, other than to say that the FEC report “speaks for itself.”

Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta said many of the company’s employees live and work in Connecticut, Mr. Dodd’s home state. He declined to comment specifically on the donations, though Citigroup rules specify that employees who are active politically must act as individuals, not as company representatives.

“Our employees give to a lot of candidates,” said Merrill Lynch spokeswoman Selena Morris. “They’re encouraged to participate in the democratic process.”

Mr. Dodd began this year with $4.9 million in the bank, less than the $11 million that Mrs. Clinton had, though more than any of the other Democratic hopefuls.

Mr. Obama had $516,553; Senator Biden of Delaware had $3.6 million. Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton also have the support of some major players in the financial industry.

Billionaire investor George Soros donated $2,100 to Mr. Obama’s exploratory committee; Mrs. Clinton took in millions from Wall Street for her 2006 re-election and counts the Evercore Partners chairman, Roger Altman, among her top advisers.