Carver Bancorp named Donald Felix as its president and CEO, effective Nov. 1, the company announced Monday.
Felix will succeed Craig MacKay, who had served as interim CEO of the Black-owned bank since its previous chief, Michael Pugh, left last October to pursue professional and philanthropic interests.
In Felix, Carver gets a 25-year banking industry veteran who has held stints at Citi, JPMorgan Chase and more recently, Citizens Bank. Felix served for two years as Citizens’ head of national banking and expansion and helped grow the bank’s deposits by $3 billion, Carver said in a press release.
A permanent CEO may add stability for Carver, a 75-year-old institution that this year weathered a “hostile takeover” attempt by one of its own investors, Dream Chasers Capital Group.
Dream Chasers, which held a 5.5% stake in the bank at the time, offered to buy 35% of Carver’s shares at $3 a share, when the bank’s stock was trading at $2.57. The investment fund said it aimed to recapitalize the bank while introducing wealth-building services to attract new depositors.
MacKay, for his part, defended Carver’s status in a shareholder letter last November, saying the bank had emerged from a formal agreement with its primary regulator in January 2023, “concluding a period of enhanced oversight, foundation-building, capital-raising, technology upgrades, and portfolio rationalization.”
“Carver is now a better capitalized and more capable bank with solid liquidity and Tier 1 Capital (12.4%), Leverage (10.1%) and Total Risk Based Capital (13.4%) ratios in excess of ‘well-capitalized’ levels,” MacKay wrote.
Felix said Carver has been “a driving force in economic empowerment in Greater New York City for more than seven decades doing some ,of the most impact-driven work in banking.”
“I look forward to advancing Carver's growth, creating value for our stakeholders, and promoting greater financial inclusion and economic mobility,” he said. “We will continue to play a central role in ensuring we meet the evolving needs of consumers and helping our communities thrive.”
Felix will join Carver’s board. MacKay, who has been on the company’s board since 2017, will continue to serve there.
“I have known Don Felix for over a decade — and I am confident he has the strategic and operational expertise to elevate the banking experience for our customers, expand our community relationships, drive technological enhancements at the Bank, and enhance profitability for our shareholders,” MacKay said in a statement Monday.
Felix will receive an annual base salary of $700,000, in addition to a $100,000 signing bonus, two performance equity grants, each with a market value of $100,000, a minimum annual performance-based cash bonus opportunity of $500,000, and other benefits applicable to executive employees, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday.
Carver’s board chair, Lewis P. Jones III, said Felix’s “expertise will help Carver achieve its strategic objective to create new revenue streams and further enhance shareholder value.”
“He will fulfill Carver's mission of expanding access to capital in the communities it serves,” Jones said.
Before Citizens, Felix spent five years at JPMorgan Chase in consumer banking and wealth management. He also worked at Citi for 11 years in consumer banking, wealth management and investment banking, according to his LinkedIn profile.
