Carver Bancorp Inc., the owner of one of the largest Black-led banks in America, is launching a national search to find a new president and CEO.
The bank recently expanded its online presence to include consumer checking and savings accounts across nine states, stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia, and Washington, DC. It has seven traditional branches in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in New York City.
According to MinorityBank.com banking analyst William Michael Cunningham, Carver’s new CEO will face a challenging business environment, including the impact of AI on banking and new potential capital rules that will require the CEO to raise capital immediately.
Further, he says the CEO will have to manage the impact of the potential elimination of all minority business programs due to the fallout over affirmative action programs, which could affect Carver’s business base.
“I think a younger person will be better able to deal with these issues, but this tends to go against tradition in the banking industry,” Cunningham says.
Pugh is only the fifth CEO in Caver’s history. It opened in 1948 to serve African American and Caribbean-American communities in New York City with limited access to mainstream banking services and business capital.
In an email to employees about his departure that was shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE, Pugh reflected.
Pugh added that there is much more ahead for the bank.
“Looking ahead, we have much to do, including our 75th annual shareholders’ meeting, finalizing our cash management product expansion, and achieving our goals strategic and capital plan goals for this fiscal year,” he noted. “Let’s continue to drive change in our communities and remain an industry-leading community bank!”
Carver Board Chairman Lewis P. Jones III thanked Pugh for his efforts in expanding Carver.
Jones stated, “The Carver Board thanks Michael for his outstanding contributions to Carver’s mission to promote economic empowerment and support the banking needs of diverse communities throughout the New York City area. We wish him the best as he begins the next chapter of his professional career.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
