Carver Bancorp


Carver Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered stock savings bank. Carver was founded in 1948 in Harlem to serve African-American communities. Carver has been designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a Community Development Financial Institution.

History

Carver was named after agricultural researcher and scientist George Washington Carver, and began its operations at 53 West 125th Street in 1948. On November 5, 1948, Carver Federal Savings and Loan Association received a federal bank charter. The first branch opened on January 5, 1949 in Harlem, New York at 53 West 125th Street.
In February 1961, Carver opened a second branch in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. In June 1975, a third branch was opened in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York.
In July 1982, Carver merged with Allied Federal Bank. Carver became a federal savings bank and changed its name to Carver Federal Savings Bank in 1986.

Carver Federal Savings Bank headquarters

Carver Bank is headquartered in Lee Building at 1825 Park Avenue in Harlem, New York. Their closest branch is at the location of the bank's previous headquarters, a four-story building at 75 West 125th Street, New York, NY which was owned an operated by Carver since 1956. The bank vacated building only once, between October 1992 and March 1996, when it was destroyed by a fire. In 2018, it was sold by the bank.

Transition of leadership

From 1948 to 1968, Carver was led by Joseph E. Davis, its first President and Chief Executive Officer. In 1970, Richard Greene was appointed President and CEO and led Carver for the next 25 years. In 1995, Thomas Clark Jr. was appointed director, President, succeeding Richard Greene. In April 1999, Carver's Board of Directors appointed Deborah C. Wright as its second female President and CEO. She retired as CEO on December 31, 2014. Effective January 1, 2015 Michael T. Pugh, the President and Chief Operating Officer succeeded Wright as CEO.