Bank helping furloughed workers makes national news
USFS employee Nancy Francine, left, shared with Plumas Bank’s Sharell Jaramillo at the Quincy branch that “It was reassuring to know that the financial protection was there if I needed it.” Photo submittedLocally owned Plumas Bank was one of a handful of independent banks singled out in two separate articles bringing to light the important role community-based banks played in helping furloughed federal workers during the government’s partial shutdown recently.
In an opinion piece by Rebeca Romero Rainey that appeared in The Hill.com, a Washington, D.C. based website, Rainey said that relationship-based bankers are fully vested in the success of their local communities and they know their customers and stand with them in good times and bad.
Citing several examples of how scores of independent banks provided assistance to their customers during the shutdown, Rainey specifically noted that Plumas Bank allowed effected depositors to overdraw direct deposit accounts, without overdraft fees, by up to 80 percent of their monthly paycheck for up to three months.
In a similar article in ICBA magazine published by the Independent Bankers’ Association, Plumas Bank was noted for several additional services they offered furloughed federal workers.
Besides offering overdraft coverage, the article lauded the bank for allowing documented government employees to defer loan payments up to three months during the shutdown without any deferral fees. And for its commercial customers, the bank established a separate line of credit to help offset those government’s accounts receivables that were not being paid during the shutdown.
The bank was quoted as saying that it was able to help several of their customers during this period. “My wife and I were able to sleep better at nights thanks to Plumas Bank,” said one of the bank’s customers. And another loan customer who took advantage of the extension said, “This is why I bank with Plumas Bank, I am a customer for life!”
