Michael T Pugh

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Michael T. Pugh

Michael T. Pugh is an American bank executive. His pronouns are He/Him/His. He serves as President and CEO of Carver Bancorp, Inc., (NASDAQ: CARV), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Founded in Harlem, New York in 1948, Carver is the largest African American-managed, publicly traded Minority Depository Institution in the United States with $735 million in assets. He also sits on the boards of Elevate Lending (NYSE: ELVT) and Pursuit Lending.

Early Life

Pugh was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He was inspired by family examples of small business entrepreneurship and hard work as a way to create and achieve financial goals.

Beliefs

Pugh believes access to education and access to capital are essential components for sustainable success and increased living standards for all people. He holds that greater attention to cultural and human values must be prioritized to enhance material well-being but also generate greater individual and national self-esteem. He is a strong proponent for job training and financial literacy to build people up and help them make better choices and take greater control over their environment.

Career

Pugh has over two decades of banking experience, including executive roles at Citizens Financial Group and Capital One Bank, N.A.

In 2012, Pugh joined Carver Bancorp as Chief Revenue Officer, focusing on redesigning its business strategy, management structure and related processes. In 2013, he was named Carver's President and Chief Operating Officer. Two years later, in January 2015, Pugh became the Chief Executive Officer, replacing longtime CEO Deborah Wright.

Since being named CEO, he has worked to strengthen the company's financial controls, expanded the bank's commercial-and-industrial lending line of business, enhanced board oversight of bank operations and worked to improve its anti-money-laundering procedures.

Pugh has stressed the importance of the bank's mission to serve communities of color, and Minority and Women Owned Business Entrepreneurs (MWBEs). As part of that initiative, Carver announced a partnership in 2021 with the Society for Financial Education & Professional Development (SFE&PD) to amplify successful financial education initiatives at three historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Pugh has been a proponent of investing in CDFIs that do social good with monies deposited, encouraging banking institutions to embrace hyperlocal investing to empower people, uplift communities, and keep the economy growing in an interview with U.S. News & World Report. He has advocated in the media for money managers and other financial professionals to work with small suppliers to advocate their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Speaking with InvestmentNews, he said, "Large firms can draw motivation from their outsized power to catalyze small firms' growth."

Carver has long recognized the need to expand wealth-enhancing opportunities in the communities it serves by increasing access to capital and other financial services for consumers, businesses, and non-profit organizations, including faith-based institutions. A measure of its progress in achieving this goal includes the Bank's sixth consecutive "Outstanding" rating, issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the "OCC") following its most recent Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA") examination in March 2022. The OCC found that 90% of Carver Federal's loans were made within its assessment area, and the Bank demonstrated excellent responsiveness to its assessment area's needs through its community development lending, investing and service activities.

This is further illustrated by Pugh's commitment to champion women entrepreneurs and minority businesses. He has implemented a holistic lending approach that includes advisory services ranging from marketing to mentoring to accounting services that help owners gain a competitive advantage. As an extension of this effort, in September 2022, Carver launched a partnership with Operation Hope to move prospective entrepreneurs through a "literacy to loans" program to prepare candidates to properly access and deploy capital.

As part of Carver's mission to provide access to mainstream financial services to underserved communities, Pugh hosted a "Women's Entrepreneur Roundtable" discussion that was spotlighted by WFUV/NPR Radio at Fordham University. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, roughly forty percent of companies are owned by women, totaling 12 million female-owned businesses in the U.S. Yet, too many female entrepreneurs face challenges when it comes to gaining access to resources. Pugh detailed how Carver Federal Savings Bank takes the extra step to provide counseling and professional support networks to assist women business owners reach their goals.

In 2022, Carver partnered with the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce to host a Minority Women-Owned Business Pitch Competition. Two women-owned small businesses received $5,000 grants aimed at making their businesses more energy efficient and eco-friendly.

COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carver originated $200 million in loans to local entrepreneurs and real-estate owners, helping preserve 5,000 jobs in Upper Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. In response to health and safety standards set by federal, state, and local government agencies, while taking into consideration guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, Pugh implemented a hybrid working model where Carver employees worked in the office 2 to 3 times a week, simultaneously, continuing to implement safety measures for employees while on-site. In June 2020, Pugh provided testimony before the Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions Subcommittee for the Committee on Financial Services of the United States House of Representatives. He advocated for Congress to recognize that businesses in low- and moderate-income and minority communities require more tools and resources to access capital as well as suggested measures to reduce bureaucracy in the PPP loan program.

Thought Leadership

Pugh has become a go-to resource for local, national, and international media exploring issues affecting the economic security and financial literacy of women, minorities and underserved communities. He has offered credit building advice and insight on how the interest rate hikes affect business owners to Time.com/NextAdvisor. He shared "5 ways to help people save money" amidst record high inflation in a sit down with Black Enterprise and opined on the effect of historic Federal Reserve Bank rate hikes on small businesses with BBC World News Report.

Pugh also shared informative real-world examples and financial advice with CNN Business and Yahoo Finance to highlight the importance of CDFIs looking beyond traditional credit scores to assist customers through economic hardships, underscoring the ethos he has put in place as Carver's CEO.

As Carver's public face, Pugh has appeared on New York 1 PIX 11 , Nasdaq Spotlight , Sirius XM, and Cheddar News, among others.

Education

Pugh worked as a bank teller while earning a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration from Eastern Michigan University and followed a program of M.S. in Financial Management at the University of Maryland University College. He received certifications from the Babson College and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Executive Leadership Programs.

Awards & Honors

Pugh has received numerous awards and honors over the years. The most significant recognition came from Medgar Evers College, which awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters at the 50th commencement ceremony on June 3, 2021.

References

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