LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich.–Credit unions across the U.S. are stepping in to help members being affected by the coronavirus outbreak with special loan offers, lowered fees, financial counseling and more.
Michigan First CU’s objective is to make sure members feel everything is “business as usual,” said CEO Michael Poulos.
“That means being open the same hours with no lobby restrictions,” said Poulos, who added MFCU is taking “all necessary” hygiene precautions. “We have not created any special programs, but have proven to be very good at helping individual members with customized solutions to their issues. We will continue that process and members are aware they can contact us. The only thing unique we are doing across the board is significantly lowering overdraft fees and increasing member limits to expand their liquidity options. That takes effect the end of March.”
Concerning staff, Poulos said Michigan First continues to operate as normally as possible.
“Members expect to see us serving them in branches, so we make sure our teams are there,” he said. “Should we have any special illness issues, we have contingency plans for coverage.”
Poulos noted the CU’s membership is diverse economically, spread throughout various industries.
“So we don’t have any adverse impact to the credit union,” said Poulos. “We fully expect to work our way through this, serving our members at the same high level.”
Michael Poulos
‘Fluid & Changing’
Sharefax CU in Cincinnati is hustling every day, said CEO Art Kremer, to keep up with the changing COVID-19 landscape.
“The situation is fluid and changing by the day. Management is meeting daily to address the new environment in which we are operating,” said Kremer. “As you can imagine, we are extremely busy calming our members and rescheduling events.”
Kremer said Sharefax is issuing more laptops to staff so they can work from home, with nine employees working remotely as of early this week. The $397-million CU has posted signs in its lobbies asking members to be considerate and practice social distancing, especially if they are not feeling well.
“Management has decided not to close the lobby at this time, but we will set limitations on drive-thru transactions—there will be no shared branching, no utility payments accepted, and no coin counting,” Kremer said.
Ordering Extra Cash
Kremer added the credit union has ordered an extra $50,000 in cash per week the will order more if needed,as a reserve until this state of emergency has passed. Ohio has been among the most aggressive states when it comes to ordering closures and other responses to the pandemic.
Sharefax CU has also suspended its intertest rate guarantee in which it meets any other local FI’s CD rate.
“Rates on savings and mortgages will be decreased dramatically,” he said. “Loan officers are encouraging members to apply over the phone.”
Sharefax will be granting emergency cash loans with proof a member is on unemployment.
“If a member shows they are receiving unemployment from the state or produces a letter from their employer stating they have been told to stay home, we will allow automatic payment skips for up to two months without a fee,” Kremer said. “Mortgages cannot be skipped, but can be extended without closing costs except for a title search and filing fees.”
Amber Mooney
New Cleaning, New Policies
TruEnergy FCU in Springfield, Va. is also having daily pandemic meetings.
“Like most credit unions, we have increased our cleaning, added hand sanitizers at teller stations, and even bought mini hand sanitizers to give away,” said Amber Mooney, manager of member experience. “We have most employees working from home and have a limited number of branch employees.”
The $124-million TruEnergy is also reminding members about its remote services.
“In addition to our many communication portals, we have allowed for direct messaging through Google and Facebook,” Mooney said.
Mooney said the credit union has created policies internally for loan and collections department to help those in need, whether it is a skip-a-pay or a short-term loan.
“We are keeping members informed of all changes but also being thoughtful not to spam them,” she said.
Dan McGowan
Prior Exercises Pay Off
In West Virginia, which on Tuesday became the last U.S. state with a confirmed COVID-19 case, Pioneer West Virginia CU is taking things seriously, said CEO Dan McGowan.
“Our leadership team has been monitoring things closely,” said McGowan. “The fact that we’ve already walked through two pandemic type disaster recovery exercises over the past couple of years gives us some degree of confidence that we’re up to the task. We’ve already increased the wipe-down cleanings of our branches, and encouraged members to utilize online banking channels.”
McGowan said the Charleston-based credit union anticipates holding deposit rates steady despite the Fed’s moves to cut rates to near zero.
“Our big concern is for borrowers who may face a financial crisis due to business closures, and the resulting lack of wage earnings,” said McGowan. “We’ll see how that goes within 30 days and into the immediate future as we track delinquencies and potential charge-offs. In the true credit union spirit, we’ll be working one-on-one with borrowers to assist them through these troubled times.”
Emergency Assistance Program
In Oak Ridge, Tenn., ORNL Federal Credit Union said it has created a loan program to assist members who have been negatively affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to ORNL FCU, the Pandemic State of Emergency Assistance Loan Program offers affected members the opportunity to apply for an unsecured loan at 0% interest for the first six months and 3% fixed interest for the remainder of the term.
The credit union said the special rate is available to ORNL FCU members who meet specific qualifications, including very limited underwriting requirements. It offers a maximum term of 48 months and the option of taking up to 90 days to make their first payment. Loan limits are based on the affected member’s income.
“We anticipate many members could be impacted by the pandemic state of emergency and we want to be prepared to help them in their time of need,” said Colin Anderson, president and CEO. “Our goal is to make sure our members and their families are taken care of during this uncertain time.”
Clackamas FCU Offers Help
In Oregon, Clackamas FCU said it seeking to help members affected by coronavirus to “bridge the gap” with offers that include:
- Members who have not used a skip payment in 2020 can apply and the $25 fee will be waived. Clackamas said will allow three skip payments per year (on auto, motorcycle, RV, boat, and personal term loans) with no charges, not to exceed one every three months.
- To encourage social distancing, Clackamas is temporarily waiving several fees when members complete transactions without visiting a branch including: waiving the fee for paying loans online or by phone, for domestic wire and ACH transactions, and the Clackamas fee on out-of-network ATMs.
- Overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees have been temporarily reduced from $27 to $12.
- Clackamas is waiving the $5 corporate check fee so members do not have to handle cash, as well as the Club Account withdrawal fee to allow easier access to needed funds.
- Clackamas has launched a new payday-alternative loan to help members quickly get the cash they need.
- Vehicle purchases or vehicle loans refinanced from another financial institution can have a first payment due date as far out as 60 days.
Increased Sanitation
Clackamas FCU said it is also closely monitoring information from local, state, and federal health officials to ensure it is consistently acting within recommendations and guidelines from these agencies. In addition, the credit union said it is ensuring employees have the information and tools they need to stay healthy. Staff will be increasing the frequency in which surfaces are sanitized, hand sanitizer is applied, and hands are washed. Clackamas will also be providing additional paid leave to staff to allow them the time and flexibility they need to care for themselves and their families, the credit union said.
“We know this pandemic will have tremendous impact on our members for weeks to come,” said Clackamas CEO Aaron Goff, “and we are committed to providing the service and help they need to ensure their continued health and well-being.”
Clackamas has announced temporary closures of three of its branches to “alleviate reduced staffing levels.”
Other Emergency Loans
As CUToday.info reported here, Washington State Employees CU has also announced an emergency loan program, in addition to free financial counseling for members worried about paying bills.
Note to Readers
Note to Readers: CUToday.info is compiling examples of how credit unions are helping their members. Please share your efforts with Frank J. Diekmann at Frank@CUToday.info or Ray Birch at ray@CUToday.info.