8-K

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                                  UNITED STATES

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549



                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934





      Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): September 17, 2003



                              CARVER BANCORP, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


    DELAWARE                        0-21487                      13-3904147
(State or other                 (Commission File                (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of                     Number)                  Identification No.)
 incorporation)


                              75 WEST 125TH STREET
                          NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10027-4512
          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)



       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (212) 876-4747



                                 NOT APPLICABLE
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

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ITEM 5.       OTHER EVENTS AND REQUIRED FD DISCLOSURE

         Attached as Exhibit 99.1 is the Company's press release regarding the
private placement of $13 million of floating rate capital securities issued by a
newly formed special purpose business trust formed by the Company.

ITEM 7(C).    EXHIBITS

      99.1    Press release of Carver Bancorp, Inc. dated September 17, 2003.









                                    SIGNATURE

                  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.



                                       CARVER BANCORP, INC.


                                       By: /s/ Deborah C. Wright
                                           ------------------------------
                                           Deborah C. Wright
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer




Dated:  September 18, 2003





                                INDEX TO EXHIBITS





    Exhibit                                                                                              Page
                                                                                                      
     99.1                Press release of Carver Bancorp, Inc. dated September 17, 2003                   6

EX-99.1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1


                         [LOGO OF CARVER BANCORP, INC.]            FOR IMMEDIATE
                                                                   RELEASE


       Contact:  David Lilly / Ruth Pachman       William Gray
                 Kekst and Company                Carver Bancorp, Inc.
                 (212) 521-4800                   (212) 876-4747, ext. 174


               CARVER BANCORP, INC. ANNOUNCES PRIVATE PLACEMENT OF
                    $13 MILLION OF TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES


NEW YORK, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003 - Carver Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company")
(AMEX: CNY), the holding company of Carver Federal Savings Bank, today announced
that it closed on a private placement of $13.0 million of floating rate capital
securities issued by a newly formed special purpose business trust formed by the
Company.

The capital securities have a maturity date of September 17, 2033, are callable
at par in 5 years and every quarter thereafter, and pay cumulative cash
distributions at a floating per annum rate of interest, reset quarterly, equal
to 3.05% over 3-month LIBOR, with an initial rate of 4.19%.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. and FTN Financial Capital Markets served as
placement agents for the offering. The issuance was part of a pooled offering
involving other participating issuers, and was made pursuant to an applicable
exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the sale for general corporate
purposes.

Carver Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a
federally chartered stock savings bank. Carver Federal Savings Bank, the largest
publicly-traded African- and Caribbean-American run financial institution in the
United States, operates five full-service branches in the New York City boroughs
of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at
www.carverbank.com.

"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF
1995: STATEMENTS IN THIS PRESS RELEASE RELATING TO PLANS, STRATEGIES, ECONOMIC
PERFORMANCE AND TRENDS, PROJECTIONS OF RESULTS OF SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES OF
INVESTMENTS AND OTHER STATEMENTS THAT ARE NOT DESCRIPTIONS OF HISTORICAL FACTS
MAY BE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES
LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995, SECTION 27A OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 AND
SECTION 21E OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
IS INHERENTLY SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES, AND ACTUAL RESULTS COULD
DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE CURRENTLY ANTICIPATED DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS,
WHICH INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, RISK FACTORS DISCUSSED IN THE COMPANY'S
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K AND IN OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED BY THE COMPANY WITH THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION FROM TIME TO TIME. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
MAY BE IDENTIFIED BY TERMS SUCH AS "MAY", "WILL", "SHOULD", "COULD", "EXPECTS",
"PLANS", "INTENDS", "ANTICIPATES", "BELIEVES", "ESTIMATES", "PREDICTS",
"FORECASTS", "POTENTIAL", OR "CONTINUE" OR SIMILAR TERMS OR THE NEGATIVE OF
THESE TERMS. ALTHOUGH WE BELIEVE THAT THE EXPECTATIONS REFLECTED IN THE
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE REASONABLE, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS,
LEVELS OF ACTIVITY, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS. THE COMPANY HAS NO OBLIGATION
TO UPDATE THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.

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