Article posted for research purposes only. Copyright, 1995 by Creative Investment Research.
The article noted that, "after more than a year of pondering the step, Carver Federal Savings Bank completed its conversion to a publicly held institution from a mutual, issuing stock at $10 per share. The Harlem-based thrift hoped to use the $14 million to $19 million in new capital raised in the conversion to strengthen its balance sheet and expand its operations."
In our research report on the institution, which was quoted in the article, we cited the fact that, for "the $308.9 million Carver Federal - the largest African-American owned financial institution in the country - the change means more than just an equity infusion. Besides inviting new scrutiny from investors, it also augurs a change in both management and strategic direction."
The article also noted that "from a financial standpoint, we (Creative Investment Research) rank them pretty low." "They don't produce the earnings you'd expect from the largest black-owned financial institution. They have a lot to offer the community nationally, and (we) expect" them to take advantage of that.
One board member noted that "the ability to market the bank to the wider African-American community is both one of the reasons Carver has gone public" said David R. Jones, president of the Community Service Society of New York. Mr. Jones served on Carver's board. "The offering itself was well-timed. There was (at that point) an explosion of African-American companies coming to the public market."
