Carver Federal Savings Bank Hosts Celebration of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Small Business Community

-- Two Brooklyn-Based Small Business Leaders Recognized for Their Community Impact --

-- Event Marks Five-Year Anniversary for Carver's Bedford-Stuyvesant Branch --

NEW YORK, Dec. 09, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carver Bancorp, Inc. CARV, the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank ("Carver" or the "Bank"), today announced that Carver recently hosted a celebration of the Bedford-Stuyvesant small business community. At the celebration, Carver honored two leaders of the local small business community: Daphnee Surpris, owner of Vodou Bar, and Michael Lambert, Executive Director of the Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District.

"After more than fifty years of serving Bed-Stuy, we are proud to recognize a new generation of local business leaders," said Michael T. Pugh, President and CEO of Carver. "Ms. Surpris and Mr. Lambert demonstrate the potential of entrepreneurs to empower our community. To support local small businesses, Carver has expanded our lending team and product suite over the past year. Through local loans, we have invested more than $160 million in Brooklyn."

At the event, Carver also recognized New York State Assemblywoman Annette Robinson for her visionary leadership and support for economic development in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Carver itself was presented with official proclamations of support from New York City Council Member Robert E. Cornegy and New York City Public Advocate Letitia James.

Mr. Pugh concluded, "With our expanded capital access programs for minority- and women-owned businesses, Carver is supporting local economic growth and the changing face of entrepreneurship in Brooklyn."

For more than 65 years, Carver has served middle- and lower-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. The Bank reinvests more than 80 percent of deposits back into these communities through local loans that support business growth, job creation, and development. Carver is also a capital-access lender for the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Small Business Mentoring Program, which creates new opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses seeking to participate in municipal construction contracts.

To further serve the small business community, Carver offers training and capacity building. Earlier this year, Carver partnered with the New York State Business Development Center on a two-day seminar to strengthen the skills of local small businesses, middle-managers, and aspiring entrepreneurs.

For more information on Carver's small business services, please contact the Carver Lending Department at 212-360-4795 or businesslending@carverbank.com. 

About Carver Bancorp, Inc.

Carver Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered stock savings bank. Carver was founded in 1948 to serve African-American communities whose residents, businesses, and institutions had limited access to mainstream financial services. In light of its mission to promote economic development and revitalize underserved communities, Carver has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a community development financial institution. Carver is among the largest African- and Caribbean-American managed banks in the United States, with nine full-service branches in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. 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.