NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carver Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:CARV), the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, today announced that Paul Hagan, a former CFO of Reliance Bancorp and accountant at KPMG LLP, has joined Carver as interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hagan replaces Roy Swan, who left Carver earlier this month after joining a leading investment bank.
Deborah C. Wright, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: "I am delighted to welcome Paul Hagan to Carver. Paul brings over 20 years of experience in the accounting and banking fields to the role of interim CFO, including six years as an accountant in the financial services practice at KPMG and, subsequent to that, seven years as CFO of Reliance Bancorp, prior to its acquisition by North Fork Bank. Most recently, Paul was CFO and a member of the executive management team of Community National Bank, a denovo bank based in Great Neck, Long Island. We look forward to working with Paul as we move forward with our plans to launch our new small business banking platform in October, and continue our focus on realizing cost savings and greater efficiency across our company over the course of this fiscal year."
Separately, Carver confirmed that it holds no common or preferred equity securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"). As a result, it has no exposure to these securities.
"While these are challenging times for the entire banking sector, Carver's balance sheet remains strong," continued Ms. Wright. "We believe that Carver's active portfolio monitoring and conservative underwriting standards have kept us on solid footing even as the economy continues to face challenges. In addition, as of June 30, 2008, Carver reported a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 8.03%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 9.86%, and a total risk-based capital ratio of 10.65%. These ratios all exceed bank regulatory requirements for designation as a well capitalized institution. Our strategy remains focused on our traditional business model, namely real estate, small business and non-profit lending in Carver's local communities, where property values have held up well during this climate," concluded Ms. Wright.
About Carver Bancorp, Inc.
Carver Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered stock savings bank. Carver Federal Savings Bank, the largest African- and Caribbean-American run bank in the United States, operates ten full-service branches in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.carverbank.com.
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors, risks and uncertainties. More information about these factors, risks and uncertainties is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.