NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carver Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq:CARV), the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank ("Carver" or the "Bank"), announced today that Carver Community Development Corporation ("Carver CDC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Carver, was awarded $25 Million in New Markets Tax Credits ("NMTC") by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund ("CDFI"), which is administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Deborah C. Wright, the Company's Chairman and CEO, said: "We are proud to be one of only nine financial institutions headquartered in New York City to be awarded these tax credits. These awards will be utilized to further drive our investments in the local community and will help to create jobs throughout New York City. This is Carver CDC's third allocation and we have used each of the prior awards to generate significant benefit in the communities we serve, as well as to generate significant fee income for the Company.
"The tax benefits achieved by our two prior allocations of $65 million in 2010 and $59 million in 2006 were used to provide below market loans to non-profit organizations, small businesses and real estate developers serving low-income communities located in New York City, Newark, NJ and adjoining communities. Taken as a whole, our allocations are expected to assist in the creation of approximately 600 permanent, full-time jobs and another 500 temporary construction jobs. We also utilized our most recent allocation to invest in a small business loan fund in Newark, NJ.
Ms. Wright continued: "On behalf of the communities we serve, I'd like to express my deep appreciation to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Donna Gambrell, Director of the CDFI Fund, for their continued support of this important program. We are honored to be selected as an award recipient."
Blondel A. Pinnock, Carver CDC's President, stated: "This allocation enables Carver CDC to continue to provide capital for economic and community development in our communities. These investments serve as a vehicle for job creation and community revitalization and have afforded Carver CDC the ability to attract more than $70 million in private capital in our communities. Simply put, this program makes a real impact in the lives of real people."
About the NMTC Program
The NMTC Program was created in 2000 to encourage the investment of private capital in commercial enterprises in low-income communities, by providing participating organizations tax credits, taken over a seven year period, totaling 39 percent of the NMTC allocation. The NMTC program is administered by the CDFI Fund, a division of the Treasury Department.
About Carver
Carver Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered stock savings bank, founded in 1948 to serve African-American communities whose residents, businesses and institutions had limited access to mainstream financial services. Carver, the largest African- and Caribbean-American run bank in the United States, operates nine full-service branches in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Carver Community Development Corporation is a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of Carver Federal Savings Bank. Carver CDC, formed in 2005 oversees and formulates strategy for the bank's NMTC Program, philanthropic grants, Community Reinvestment Act compliance, financial literacy and public-private partnerships with government agencies and non-profits. 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.