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PR CU 'Pray For Us'

Puerto Rican Credit Union CEO Says 'Pray For Us'

By Michael Ogden, Peter Strozniak September 26, 2017 
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"Pray for us." That was a statement shared with CU Times via email from WOCCU officials who have been in contact with one Puerto Rican credit union CEO.In an email exchange with Victor Miguel Corro, WOCCU's vice president of member services, he shared a correspondence with Luis Lopez, CEO of Abraham Rosa Cooperativa in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico which is roughly 10 miles west of San Juan.Since Hurricane Maria struck the island a week ago, communication has been extremely difficult since the entire electricity grid and communications infrastructure was destroyed. WOCCU, CUNA, NCUA and other credit union organizations have had very little luck getting in touch with credit union officials on the island. Only until now have we started to learn some of the details of the destruction. In the email exchange, Lopez gave many disturbing accounts of the day-to-day operations of the credit union since Hurricane Maria passed over the island. The following are bullet points taken directly from the email shared with CU Times:
  • Several Credit Unions have been operating very limited hours, typically 8.30-12.00
  • Abraham Rosa CU, for example, is handing $200/per day/member so they can take care of needs.
  • Most CUs have no cash now. Hard for staff to get to them and lots of staff had losses in their homes.
  • No ATMs are working, so no credit card/debit card transactions are going through
  • He may be able to just open through tomorrow as they are running low on diesel fuel. Diesel is used to fire up the electricity generator for his branch, but gas/diesel is in very limited supply.
  • There are no armored trucks to carry cash either and physical security is not guaranteed.
  • There is no on-line ACH transactions. The only way they are clearing is through Banco Cooperativo, which is linked to the Fed and banking system. Luis’ employees take a USB drive and physically go to Banco Cooperativo for the clearing. It takes 2 hours to do this, so all clearing is behind by at least one day.
  • Banks and other financial institutions are going through the same.
  • There is a curfew from 9-6, so people basically sleep in the line they may happen to be (water, ice, gas).
  • It’s desperate and it feels like it’s never going to get back to normal. He said, pray for us.
According to Corro, WOCCU is now coordinating relief efforts with the National Credit Union Foundation and the New York Credit Union Association. CUNA Mutual Group, which has had four disaster response team members in Puerto Rico since Saturday, said they have accounted for all of their 12 employees based in San Juan.  “We are relieved to be able to say that we have been able to successfully account for and make contact with all 12 of our employees,” Beth Cutler, community relations and foundation leader for CUNA Mutual Group in Madison, Wis., said. “We know that they are safe. We’re obviously dealing with a long road to recovery, but our employees are all accounted for.”Cutler said CMG’s disaster response team determined employees are in need of critical emergency supplies such as satellite phones, solar chargers, ready-to-eat emergency meals,  drinking water filtration systems, first aid kits, flashlights and batteries. Cutler said those supplies will be flown to Puerto Rico.To assist CMG’s credit union customers, she also said additional disaster response team members are expected to travel to the island as soon as they can secure flights.“As with many people we are trying to keep on top of this situation,” she said. “As communications start to improve, especially now since we will get satellite  phones into all of our employees’ hands, we will continue to be on the ready to make sure we are assessing the needs moving forward. Like many other people we don’t have a lot of specifics, but we will continue to pay attention to that to see what’s next.”CMG said it will match every dollar that is donated by their employees for a total of up to a maximum of $500,000. Those funds will be used for immediate recovery efforts.“CUNA Mutual Group is resolved to be there not only today but in the months to come as recovery efforts are identified,” Cutler said. According to an email update from B. Dan Berger, NAFCU’s president/CEO, he stated, "We reached out to members (and nonmembers) but there is little to no cell, internet or electricity. No running water is also a problem."Late on Tuesday, the NCUA released a statement that said, "As Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands work to recover from the destruction of Hurricane Maria, the National Credit Union Administration has resources available to help credit unions affected by the storm."The NCUA has eight federally chartered credit unions in Puerto Rico and five in the Virgin Islands. "NCUA examiners have been working to stay in contact with those credit unions, determine their status, and offer assistance as-needed," the statement read.The NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives can provide urgent needs grants of up to $7,500 to low-income credit unions that experience sudden costs to restore operations interrupted by the storm.According to sources contacted by CU Times, few if any credit unions have been able to apply for grants or funds due to the lack of electricty on the island. 
 
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