In Brief: Fannie Lending a Hand To N.Y. Minority Thrift

Fannie Mae deposited $250,000 in New York's Carver Federal Savings Bank as part of the mortgage agency's community development financial institutions initiative.

Fannie Mae, formally known as the Federal National Mortgage Association, also plans to take an equity interest in Carver because of the "unique niche of the bank," according to Carver officials.

"Carver Federal Savings Bank is the largest African-American-managed institution in the country and a significant community development lender," said James A. Johnson, chairman and chief executive of Fannie Mae. "We are confident Fannie Mae's investment in Carver Federal will expand financial capacity in Harlem."

The size of Fannie Mae's planned equity investment was not disclosed.

A Fannie Mae representative will work to enhance Carver's outreach to potential homebuyers in the thrift's inner-city New York market. The agency will also help it develop a strategy to become a $1 billion institution by the year 2000. Carver currently has $363 million of assets.

"The support of Fannie Mae heightens our visibility as a mainstay in the community development arena," said Thomas L. Clark, Carver's chief executive.

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