[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17883]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




IN TRIBUTE TO RICHARD T. GREENE, THE MAN WHO MADE A BANK AN INSTITUTION

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 12, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Richard T. 
Greene, an innovator and entrepreneur whose effective leadership helped 
revitalize and rebuild my Harlem community. Mr. Greene, the man who is 
recognized as building the largest African American financial 
institution, Carver Federal Savings, died at his home in Brooklyn last 
Thursday on August 3, 2006, of heart failure. Mr. Greene's innovative 
spirit and foresight expanded needed financial services which provided 
the means for investment within the Harlem community. Under Greene, 
Carver also showed its support for the people of Harlem through a 
commitment to helping those less fortunate by creating grants up to 
$3,000 each year to 40 to 50 collegebound students in the Harlem 
community.
  Mr. Greene was born on July 18, 1913, in Charleston, SC. At a time 
when very few African Americans were going to college, Mr. Greene 
graduated with a degree in business administration from Hampton 
University and did postgraduate work at New York University and the 
Wharton School of Banking and Finance. He also attained the rank of 
major in the U.S. Army during his World War II service, and was awarded 
an honorary doctorate from St. John's University.
  Greene's most noted contribution came through the work he did as the 
president and director of Carver Federal Savings. Carver Federal 
Savings was established by business and church leaders in 1949, during 
a time of racial strife and segregation. It grew to become one the 
areas leading financial institutions. Through his tenure, Mr. Greene 
expanded the bank's presence in Harlem by chiefly investing in one to 
four-family homes and in churches.
  Greene participated in many business development organizations, such 
as the Harlem Business Alliance, which he co-founded; the Apollo 
Theater Foundation; and the Harlem Urban Development Corporation 
(HUDC), on whose boards he served. For several years, he worked with 
David Rockefeller in the New York City Partnership, Inc. His 
professional affiliations included service with the Federal Home Loan 
Bank of New York, Second District, from 1989-1992; serving thrift 
institutions in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands; and membership in the Washington, D.C.-based American Savings 
and Loan League, Inc.
  I enter into the Congressional Record the obituary published in the 
New York Times on August 9, 2006, which provides an insight into 
Richard T. Greene's humanitarian efforts and accomplishments. He has 
truly left his mark on the Harlem community, and he will always be 
remembered for that. He was admired and loved by the community in which 
he served. What I hope people will remember from his life is that he 
always found a way to reach in and give back, touching the lives of 
many. As banks and financial institutions continue to grow and expand 
in New York and communities like Harlem we must reflect upon the lives 
and hard work of the individuals whose innovation made such progress 
possible.

                [From The New York Times, Aug. 9, 2006]

     Richard T. Greene Sr., 93, Is Dead; Made a Bank an Institution

                      (By Michael J. De La Merced)

       Richard T. Greene Sr., who for 30 years was the president 
     and a director of the Carver Federal Savings Bank, which he 
     built into the country's largest African-American financial 
     institution, died at his home in Brooklyn last Thursday. He 
     was 93.
       The cause was heart failure, his daughter, Cheryll, said.
       Established by business and church leaders in Harlem in 
     1949, Carver grew to become one of the area's enduring 
     institutions. Mr. Greene began his long career there in 1960, 
     when Joseph Davis, the bank's co-founder and president, hired 
     him as an executive assistant. Mr. Greene quickly rose 
     through the ranks, becoming president in 1969.
       During his tenure as Carver's president, Mr. Greene 
     presided over a series of expansions, as it opened offices 
     throughout the city and went public in 1994. Carver also 
     suffered hardships, including the savings and loan crisis of 
     the late 1980s, a fire in 1992 that destroyed its 
     headquarters, and increasing competition from larger 
     institutions like Chase.
       ``He was perhaps the most critical factor in preventing 
     Carver from getting swept away'' in the savings and loan 
     crisis, said Deborah C. Wright, Carver's current president. 
     He avoided the high-risk loans that got other institutions 
     into trouble, chiefly investing in one- to four-family homes 
     and in churches, and kept loans at a relatively low level 
     compared with deposits, she said.
       Mr. Greene retired as president in 1995 and as chairman in 
     1997.
       He was also active in many other Harlem institutions. Mr. 
     Greene was a founder of the Harlem Business Alliance and 
     worked with David Rockefeller in the New York City 
     Partnership. He also served on the boards of the Apollo 
     Theater Foundation and the Harlem Urban Development 
     Corporation and established the Carver Scholarship Fund, 
     which gives grants up to $3,000 each year to 40 to 50 
     college-bound students in the bank's markets.
       Mr. Greene was born on July 18, 1913, in Charleston, SC. He 
     graduated with a degree in business administration from 
     Hampton University in Hampton, VA, in 1938 and served as an 
     Army officer during World War II. In addition to his 
     daughter, Mr. Greene is survived by his wife, Virginia; a 
     son, Richard Jr.; and three grandchildren.

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