BROOKLYN, N.Y.-Organized programs and personal conversations are helping members at a pair of very different credit unions in different parts of the country make the most of their financial situations after being laid off from their jobs.
Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union responded to the numerous job losses in the New York/New Jersey metro area and the construction industry as a whole by beginning a program last month that allows members who recently lost their jobs to tap into their long-term savings without penalty as the CU covers all penalties associated with early withdrawal from share deposit accounts. Members must notify a branch manager of their situation and present either a notice of termination or an unemployment pay stub. VP-Marketing Marian Ponanta pointed out that the policy helps members and the credit union in both the near and short term by making CDs more attractive.
"It encourages (members) to save by saying if something happens we won't penalize them," he added. "This is what really sets a credit union apart from a bank."
There are no deposit term limitations in the program as members with long term CDs can withdraw from their accounts free of charge just as much as those with shorter term accounts-an intentional move said COO Agnieszka Poslednik to encourage members to go longer. The program provides a "mutual benefit," and does not provide a threat to the CU when it must forgo the stiffer fees for withdrawing from a long-term deposit account, as most members attracted to the idea will not have to use it.
"There is going to be a vast majority that won't have to take advantage of the program, but for those who need to, we are here to help them," Poslednik said. "(And) the Polish population we serve is typically a very frugal and conscientious one when it comes to saving for a rainy day."
The $1.1-billion institution is also continuing its community efforts through its "huge" donation budget to help fund church programs and local organizations that are in greater demand than ever.
Proactively Reaching Out To Affected Members
In rural Tennessee the job losses are not quite as numerous but they are just as painful. Several-dozen manufacturing jobs were cut at two plants near Erwin, spurring Clinchfield FCU CEO Sandy Lingerfelt to action. In an area accustomed to seasonal layoffs in the railroad industry, Clinchfield staffers are well versed in rapid response to their members coming home without paychecks. Lingerfelt said if a plant nearby lets Clinchfield members go in the morning, the credit union knows all their names by the afternoon. If someone slips through the cracks, member service representatives are trained to look for changes in members' deposit amounts and watch for new unemployment checks popping up.
"If we can find the names out and we're pretty successful in doing that, we try to contact those people by phone or handwritten note and say 'We realize you're laid off, now come in and let's take a look at your whole financial picture.'"
In those one-on-one sessions members get the opportunity to see all of their options including applying skip a pay to an account to make it current, debt consolidation and refinancing, and even deferring payment on a consolidated loan.
"We've built loyalty because they know we care about them when they are having a rough time, Usually when you help somebody when they really help they'll pay you when they can't pay anybody else. Very seldom does it come back to haunt us," Lingerfelt said noting some members have even gone so far as to declare bankruptcy then come back and pay off their old and erased loans at the credit union because they are so loyal to the institution.
