NYLIB Congratulates Ponce Bank President & CEO Carlos Naudon on Receiving the 2025 Ellis Island Medal of Honor

NYLIB would like to congratulate Carlos Naudon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ponce Bank, a federal savings association headquartered in the Bronx, and of its publicly traded parent company, Ponce Financial Group, Inc., on receiving the 2025 Ellis Island Medal of Honor. This annual award is presented by the Ellis Island Honors Society to individuals who embody the values of the American spirit and the legacy of immigration.

Ponce Bank was founded in 1960 with its first branch located in the Bronx, which at the time was considered a declining neighborhood. Nevertheless, the bank planted its roots and has now served the greater New York City and New Jersey areas for over sixty years. The bank seeks to improve the communities around it by serving low-income and minority customers as well as investing in local small businesses.

Carlos, a retired attorney, first began working with Ponce Bank as a consultant and regulatory counsel in 1985. During his many years in private practice, Carlos was a frequent lecturer and speaker on banking issues, corporate governance, quality assurance, and performance incentives. Carlos joined Ponce Bank’s Board of Directors in 2014. He was appointed as the Ponce Bank’s President in 2015 and as its CEO in 2018.

Carlos has a long history of public service. He currently serves as Vice Chairperson of the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA), as Chairman of the Minority Bank Advisory Council of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), and as a member of the New York Fed’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC). He is also the immediate past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Hospital Center and continues to serve as a trustee of the hospital.

NYLIB congratulates Carlos on this important award. We are proud to count Ponce Bank as a member, and look forward to Carlos's continued leadership in community banking and involvement in our organization as an Advisory Board Member.