Independent Banker - June 2020 - 52

challenges like this a little differently, " says Michael B.
Edwards, CEO of $950 million-asset Marquette Savings
Bank in Erie, Pa. " Our business customers depend on us.
And we were determined to give them our very best. Our
business bankers were scheduling Zoom conferences with
the team at 11:30 on a Sunday night and taking calls and
processing applications right up to the very hour the PPP
[Paycheck Protection Program] money ran out.
" We streamlined processes and reallocated resources to
supplement our business banking team, " he adds. " In all,
we successfully processed more than 290 PPP applications
for businesses in our area. "
Community bankers say they've been inundated with
inquiries from customers worried about layoffs, furloughs
or loss of business income following social distancing
guidelines and government stay-at-home orders. The need
for financial assistance has continued to grow. As of May 8,
" These are scary and
uncertain times, and
we want to remind
them that no matter what
happens, their local community
bank will be there. "
-Brad Bolton,
Community Spirit Bank
a record 33.5 million people have filed for unemployment
assistance since mid-March, according to the U.S. Labor
Department. In mid-May, economists at Goldman Sachs
downgraded their forecast for the unemployment rate,
which they predicted will peak at 25%, roughly the level seen
during the worst period of the Great Depression.
Many community banks took early action by
implementing loan deferment programs that offered relief
to those affected by the virus, whether due to illness or
loss of employment or income. Personal customers could
request up to 90-day deferrals on loan payments.
Community banks have taken the initiative to reach out
to customers. For example, $1.3 billion-asset Investors
Community Bank in Manitowoc, Wis., communicated with
clients to offer assistance with payment relief.
" We were fielding dozens of requests from various
industries, primarily hospitality and restaurants, " says
52 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q June 2020
Investors Community Bank CEO and cofounder Tim
Schneider. " If it was COVID-19-related, we were working
to meet those requests wherever possible. "
At the same time, community banks were putting
measures in place to ensure the safety of employees
and customers. Although banks have been allowed to
continue operating as essential businesses amid shelterin-place
orders, many voluntarily implemented their
own precautions, such as social distancing, closing or
reducing traffic in bank lobbies, and using work-at-home
alternatives. Banking services largely shifted to drive-up
tellers, online and mobile banking to minimize contact.
" Our biggest push is all things digital, " says Brad Bolton,
president, CEO and senior lender of $148 million-asset
Community Spirit Bank in Red Bay, Ala. " We are helping
customers who may have not been familiar with mobile
banking and all the benefits it provides get set up. We also
have increased limits at our ATMs and cash in them to
make sure they have easy access to their money. "
Huge demand for PPP funds
Beginning in March, community banks prioritized
assisting consumer and business customers with their
immediate needs to get them through the first two or three
months of the pandemic, the time of the most uncertainty.
For small business customers in particular, there
was a scramble to apply for forgivable loans available
through the PPP. The program was created by the federal
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act and is being administered by the Small Business
Administration (SBA).
The first round of PPP funding on April 3 prompted
an all-hands-on-deck response. Community bankers
had to quickly get up to speed on the program and put
processes in place to field applications while dealing with
government website glitches. " Our lenders have done a
tremendous job of gathering customer information and
working with our customers to submit those applications, "
says Michael Bilski, CEO of North American Banking
Company in Roseville, Minn.
The $700 million-asset community bank is also getting
inquiries from business customers whom it had been
courting over the years. " We have an opportunity now to
maybe help them with some of the Paycheck Protection
loans, because our competitors, for whatever reason, have
chosen not to do it, " Bilski says.
North American Banking Company opted to purchase
a software program to help facilitate PPP applications.
The application period for small businesses officially
opened Friday, April 3. By the following Wednesday,
Independent Banker - June 2020

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