News
Carver Bancorp, Inc. has announced that Deborah C. Wright will retire as CEO to be replaced by Michael Pugh. Pugh, currently the company's president and COO, joined the company as chief revenue officer in 2012 and became president and COO in 2013. Wright will continue to serve as the company's non-executive chairman of the board. She will also join the Ford Foundation’s Economic Opportunity and Assets program. "I am honored to serve as Carver's CEO and I join the board in thanking Debbie for her leadership and contributions to our organization over the past 15 years,” Pugh said. “Carver has a compelling future ahead as our team concentrates on achieving our financial and operational goals and continuing a legacy of service to New York City's urban communities.”
Community Bank and Peoples Bank ranked in the SBA Mississippi District’s top five lenders by dollar volume of loans. In fiscal year 2014, a total of 412 SBA loans were approved for $153.3 million in the Mississippi district. Almost 56% of the loans backed were to underserved markets. “This could not have happened without the participation of our various lending partners,” said Janita R. Stewart, SBA Mississippi District Director. “Access to capital is the key element for small businesses to grow and prosper.” The SBA Mississippi District Office will recognize the top lenders at a special award event in the spring.
Bankers have begun to show cautious interest in a proposal to offer banking services in post office branches after U.S. Postal Service Inspector General David Williams clarified that the plan would be a partnership with banks rather than head-to-head competition. Williams envisions the Postal Service providing a marketplace platform that private-sector financial institutions could use to offer competing prepaid cards and other financial products. "The platform would be open to everyone — banks, credit unions and the credit card industry," he said. But the postal banking concept still faces big hurdles. Officials at the Postal Service itself have shown less enthusiasm for the concept than the inspector general's office, which operates as a separate advisory body.
Thirteen Chicago area financial services firms including Urban Partnership Bank have joined together to explore ways to get more black and Latino workers into the industry. Minorities are underrepresented in financial services; more than 90 percent of senior-level staffers at Chicago-area financial services firms are white according to a 2012 survey. In addition to hosting a conference on boosting minority hires, the group is conducting research to identify challenges to hiring black and Latino workers and identifying ways that their hiring can be increased. The group also aims to develop a yearly index to track minority representation in the financial services industry.
Industrial Bank celebrated its 80th year with a reception featuring a number of Washington, D.C. luminaries. At the celebration, Industrial officials announced the bank is offering five grants totaling $80,000 for new businesses looking to invest in long-term success. Current Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray presented Industrial Bank President and CEO Doyle Mitchell with a proclamation from the city recognizing the bank's service to its communty. Mayor-Elect Muriel Bowser also spoke at the event, thanking Industrial Bank for its work and stressing the importance of teaching young people the value of saving.
New York City's Carver Federal Savings Bank announced two appointments designed to strengthen the Bank's lending and community development team. Blondel A. Pinnock, formerly the president of Carver Community Development, was promoted to Chief Lending Officer, Senior Vice President. In her new role, Pinnock will be responsible for the leadership and day-to-day management of the bank's loan production department. Takisia Whites was appointed President of Carver Community Development and will also continue in her current role as Non-Profit Team Leader in the Bank's Lending Department. Whites will be responsible for the Bank's New Markets Tax Credit program and will oversee community engagement.
The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation highlighted the work of Southern Bancorp, Inc. CEO Darrin Williams as part of their Forty Years Forty Leaders For Arkansas series. The videos highlight impact-oriented leaders in Arkansas who increase prosperity, encourage educational attainment, strengthen communities and build the state's nonprofit infrastructure. "So many of the communities that we serve have been abandoned by traditional financial institutions as big banks consolidate and leave small towns and as small banks are burdened by regulatory pressures... Southern wants to fill that void," Williams said. "We want to be the bank for all of America. We want to be the bank in the Delta that will provide responsible and responsive capital to our communities."
A cap on the amount payday lenders can charge their customers has been announced by the United Kingdom's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Payday loan rates will be capped at 0.8% per day of the amount borrowed. In total, no one will have to pay back more than twice what they borrowed, and there will be a £15 ($24) cap on default charges. The new cap means borrowers who fail to pay back on time can be charged a maximum of £15, plus a maximum of 0.8% a day in interest and fees. “For people who struggle to repay, we believe the new rules will put an end to spiraling payday debts," said FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley.
Employees and customers of Industrial Bank celebrated the Washington-based lender's 80th anniversary Monday night. To commemorate the anniversary, Industrial is offering five grants totaling $80,000 for new small businesses angling for long-term success. The effort is being supported by the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., FSC First of Prince Georges County, Operation HOPE and the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. "The mission is still the same," said Industrial Bank President and CEO Doyle Mitchell. "There are still a lot of people who are underserved for a variety of reasons, whether it's income, race or small business owners."
The Treasury Department and financial crime-fighting agency Financial Crimes Enforcement Network sought to assuage critics who say their blunt enforcement actions against money laundering have caused banks to cut ties with entire business sectors, such as check cashers. The regulators said banks should evaluate the risks associated with opening their doors to money service businesses on a case-by-case basis. Critics say the money-laundering enforcement, along with the so-called "Operation Chokepoint" fraud crackdown, have fueled the "de-risking" trend. Treasury has promised a deeper level of engagement with the banking industry on the enforcement actions, including a Jan. 13 public forum on money services businesses and banking access.