FirstBank, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks with a focus on “banking for good,” today announced an assistance program aimed at providing relief and flexibility to federal employees impacted by the government shutdown.
FirstBank, which has over 750,000 customers and 115 branch locations in Colorado, Arizona and California, will provide the following benefits to government workers impacted by the furlough:
• Fee Refunds: All fees such as overdraft fees, Visa card fees and early withdrawal fees, etc., will be refunded. Customers can go into any branch location or contact FirstBank’s 24-hour customer service line to have fees reversed. They should also notify branch employees and other representatives about their federal employment status to avoid transactional fees for things like wire transfers, cashier’s checks or money orders.
• One-Time Omitted Mortgage or Loan Payment: FirstBank is offering furloughed customers the ability to skip one payment (with interest waived) on their personal loans or mortgage upon request. If further relief is needed, FirstBank will make considerations and evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
• Zero Percent Interest Rates: The bank will reduce interest rates on credit cards to 0 percent and cash reserves to .001 percent for a three month period, starting when the customer contacts FirstBank to request the lowered rate. Furloughed customers, who don’t have a credit card or cash reserve line, can apply and should be provided the same offer, pending they meet the bank’s credit requirements.
• Interest rate accommodations will be offered to impacted customers who contact the bank prior to April 15, 2019. New customers will need to open a deposit account in order to access a cash reserve line of credit. A minimum monthly payment on both credit cards and cash reserves will still be required, but it will be allocated entirely to the principal amount as no interest will be charged.
“We recognize the government shutdown is causing very serious implications, where hundreds of thousands of people are struggling to make ends meet,” said Jim Reuter, CEO of FirstBank. “We want to provide support and ensure they have the resources needed to get by. It’s not just a nice thing to do; it’s the right thing to do.”
“We’ll continue to evaluate the federal situation, keep an open dialogue with furloughed employees, and make adjustments to our assistance program as needed. We don’t want to leave anyone out in the cold, and it’s important we do what’s best for our customers and communities,” added Reuter.
Federal employees (both existing customers and non-customers) can go into any branch location or contact FirstBank’s 24-hour customer service line toll free at 1-800-964-3444 or 303-232-5522 and press “0” to inquire about the assistance program or get any of the above relief efforts underway.
