By Ray Birch
PLANO, Texas—With as many as half of all credit unions in Texas having had their operations effected by heavy snow, record low temperatures and widespread power outages, credit unions across the Lone Star State are currently braced for a situation that has no end in sight, said the CEO of the Cornerstone CU League.
The cold weather and related problems are by no means limited to Texas, with credit unions across much of the country reporting branch closures, difficult conditions and other issues affecting their operations. In Texas, a number of credit unions that are Fiserv clients have reported outages due to servers being offline, meaning online banking is not available to their members, sources told CUToday.info.
Cornerstone League President and CEO Caroline Willard told CUToday.info the weather, which has seen record lows in numerous cities and frigid, icy conditions almost everywhere, has been a tough experience.
“I wouldn't even fathom a guess as to when this will be all over,” Willard said. “I didn't think we would have a problem today, Thursday. It’s crazy.”
Willard said the league is hearing through its communication channels there are still a large number of credit unions closed.
“It’s a good thing that credit unions in Texas still have a lot of drive-thrus, as that’s not true everywhere in the country,” said Willard. “Some credit unions are staying open with a skeleton crew and serving members through drive-thrus, or by appointment only. The pandemic was good training for this.”
Many credit unions have taken to Twitter to offer updates on branch closures, but that assumes members have electricity and have been able to charge computers and cellphones.
The widespread power outages in Texas have been improving since the storm arrived earlier in the week, reports indicate. Power was down for about 500,000 Texas customers as of Thursday morning—down from the more than three million outages a day earlier, CNN reported.
Caroline Willard
Problems on the Road
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state's power grid, said in a statement Thursday morning it had made "significant progress" restoring power. But rolling blackouts were still expected in many areas for days, leaving many residents to turn to any means necessary—some of them deadly—to generate heat.
Despite the progress, Willard said, the “snowdemic” has wreaked havoc on Texas.
“The roads are a big issue. We just don’t have that many plow trucks,” she said.
The Cornerstone League offices are closed, but Willard said that is not an issue, as much of the staff have been working from home during the health crisis anyway.
“But there is nothing we can do when the power outages hit employees where they live. We need Internet access,” noted Willard, who added the league has instituted a new work policy whereby those severely impacted by the weather and outages are working on an on-call basis.
ACH Concerns
Willard noted some credit unions are concerned about processing their ACH files in a timely manner.
“We’ve learned that NACHA will not be issuing a blanket grace period for delayed ACH and return processing, but case-by-case considerations may be given. We haven’t learned of any delays in armored delivery or ATM servicing, but we will continue to monitor the situation,” she said. “Catalyst Corporate FCU reports that all ACH processing is currently on schedule. Its Member Services department is working closely with credit unions without power, and Catalyst Corporate FCU remains fully available to assist its members. We urge members to reach out to NACHA’s regional payments association for the latest information and updates, as well as Catalyst Corporate FCU’s member services or ACH departments for additional assistance.”
Texas Bay CU tweeted out this photo of its CEO working as receptionist.
On the league’s website, Cornerstone Foundation Executive Director Courtney Moran, said the Foundation is “ready to assist when disaster strikes and our disaster relief grant program was created for events like the recent winter storm. I strongly urge any affected credit union employee or volunteer to apply through our website if they have been affected by the storm.”
For More Information
Click here to learn more about the Cornerstone Foundation’s disaster relief grant program. Contact Cornerstone Foundation Executive Director Courtney Moran at cmoran@cornerstonefoundation.coop with all other grant-related questions.