Managing Your Finances in Uncertain Times

 

To our members:

The US stock market hit a record high on February 18, 2020.  By March 18, 2020, just 30 days later, we reached the fastest bear market (a decline of 20%) in history.  We were as surprised as you about the COVID-19 pandemic and how unprepared the country was for such a disaster.  The year 2020 is our 70th anniversary.  We are very strong financially and we are prepared to use this strength to protect you, our members.  From Day 1 of the crisis, our mission has been to assist you, our member-owners, in getting through this crisis safely and as financially sound as possible.  After all, our mission is to provide “member financial solutions made easy”. 

 

In a nutshell, here is the plan that we developed to assist our 45,000 members:

Financial reports often note that the average American would have difficulty coming up with $400 for an emergency.  Therefore, our first financial goal was “to do no harm” – meaning our plan was intended to “freeze” your financial position wherever it was at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.  In most cases this means that you can skip, or defer, any or all your loan payments (consumer, mortgage, and business loans!) to us for three months.  For most people this will free up 25-50% of your regular monthly income available to buy groceries, et al and get you through this crisis.  On top of that, we increased all credit card limits by $1,000 automatically – to supplement your financial needs!  And, we tried to do all of this as seamlessly as possible so there wasn’t significant extra effort required on your part.  Simply contact us through any of our many available channels (drive-thrus, telephone, email, website, home-banking, chat, text). 

 

If you already have savings of the recommended three to six months’ worth of living expenses, we hope you will still take advantage of the additional security that our financial plan offers.  We realize that the increased likelihood of losing your job or paying a medical bill has increased.  We want to ensure that our members don’t have to make financial decisions based on fear that the economy or financial system will collapse.  We are truly here for you!

 

Stay well,

Craig Peters, CEO

 

Assistance for Members Impacted by the COVID-19 Virus Situation

If you have been impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we have several options available to help you. Visit our COVID-19 Response information page for more details. 

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