COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.– Ent Credit Union is reporting it has approved more than $24 million in emergency loans and deferred more than $90 million in loan payments as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, Ent said it has eliminated and reduced many fees and doubled its business lines of credit, while also taking steps to prioritize the safety and welfare of its employees.
According to Ent, the several COVID-19 Member Relief Programs it offers have resulted in:
- Deferred loan payments on business loans totaling $89 million
- More than 5,000 emergency loans totaling more than $24 million
- Increased lines of credit by more than $1.6 million for Colorado small businesses
- More than 30,000 monthly consumer loan payments skipped (including personal, auto and home equity line of credit)
- More than $1.7 million in deferred mortgage payments
- Fee relief for thousands of members with eliminated and waived fees
“We began to prepare for this scenario weeks before the social distancing and shelter-in-place mandates were instituted,” said CEO Chad Graves. “We knew this would be a huge undertaking and worked to make sure the bulk of our staff could work safely from home, while still serving our members at the highest possible level - sometimes in new and creative ways.”
Protecting Employees
In addition, Ent said it has also worked diligently to protect employees when social distancing and stay-at-home mandates began, and provided them with the necessary resources to work remotely.
Some extra measures Ent said it has taken include:
- Ordering new laptops and other equipment for people to work remotely
- Paying front-line staff interfacing with the public and call center staff at time and a half for the added risk they’re taking to serve members
- Paying staff while home sick, in quarantine or caring for young children without counting it against paid time off (PTO)
- Extra levels of sanitizing and cleaning measures
“Approximately 45% of Ent staff members are working remotely for the first time,” Graves added. “It shows their level of professionalism and passion that they’ve adapted so quickly to new processes serving members, as well as the dedication of our service center team members working at our drive-up locations and call center.”
In addition to physical safety, the credit union said regular check-ins on Zoom meetings are key, but it has also offered employees free mental health days that don’t count against their PTO.
“We want to make sure our staff has the tools they need to not only take care of our members, but to also take care of themselves and their families,” explained Graves.