The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has provided a variety of emergency relief programs for businesses around the nation. A vital portion of the CARES Act was the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), an incentive designed to enable small businesses the ability to keep workers on their payroll.
In response, Southern Michigan Bank and Trust’s dedicated team of employees has worked tirelessly over the past five weeks to support local businesses in this time of emergency. Currently, the bank has funded 630 PPP loans totaling approximately $75 million. Nearly 30 loans supported local non-profit organizations with funding in the amount of $1.5 million.
“As soon as this federal program became available, we were tasked with developing new processes and procedures to properly administer the hundreds of applications that came through the door. We understood the importance of the PPP loans, and acted quickly, as we knew this would be vital in the effort to maintain jobs in our communities,” said John Castle, SMB&T Chairman and CEO.
Additionally, Southern was able to support hundreds of residential customers through forbearance or deferments of loan payments.
Safety remains a top priority as well, and Southern has taken steps to assure the protection of employees and customers, such as emphasizing drive-thru services and enabling nearly one-half of bank employees to work remotely, all while never furloughing a single employee.
“In all, a herculean effort with unbelievable collaboration across our departments,
regions, and individual employees has enabled us to accomplish what we did so
quickly,” said Castle.
Southern continues to look for ways to support their customers and communities during
this unprecedented time.
Southern Michigan Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and the parent company of
Southern Michigan Bank & Trust. It operates fourteen branches within Branch, Calhoun,
Hillsdale, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph Counties, providing a broad range of consumer,
business and wealth management services throughout the region. For more information,
please visit the Southern Michigan Bank & Trust website at
www.smb-t.com.