Pub. 10 2020 Issue 2

8 www.azbankers.org By Laurie Stewart CHAIRMAN’S VIEW Banking in the Time of Coronavirus W HEN I TOOK THE STAGE AT THE ABA ANNUAL CONVENTION IN my hometown of Seattle last fall as your newly elected ABA chair, I used my speech to remind the assembled bankers of the imperative of change — keeping up with rapid changes in technology, finding and retaining top talent and protecting our banks in a time of fast-moving cyber threats. “There’s plenty to keep us up at night.” Is there ever. I originally planned to write this column on a different topic, but a few weeks before this magazine’s press date, the coronavirus pan- demic arrived on American soil — establishing a beachhead right in my home state. Seattle was one of the first cities where Americans got to know terms like “social distancing” and “self-quarantine.” To help stop transmis- sion, many neighbors stayed at home. Restaurants and stores closed; gatherings of more than 50, then more than 10, people ceased; em- ployees worked from home when they could. Local economic activity — the lifeblood of any bank — ground to a snail’s pace. As the pandemic spread in the Puget Sound region and then through the country, banks like mine swung into action. Dusty pandemic con- tingency plans were quickly reviewed, updated and put into motion. At Sound Community Bank, we designed a customized loan program to help our clients who were affected by COVID-19, who had lost a job or who could not work because of quarantines. And through our network of interactive teller machines, we could con- tinue to deliver personalized banking services to clients even if they are practicing social distancing. My peers in Seattle and nationwide stepped up too, with loan for- bearance, restructurings, fee waivers, emergency loans — and, of course, extra support for our front line team members. Not far from my bank’s headquarters, WaFd Bank offered interest-free 90-day lines of credit to affected businesses. Customers Bank in Penn-