COVID Update

Update Posted: 3/30/2020

CARES ACT LOAN PROGRAM

Who Qualifies:
Businesses with fewer than 500 employees are eligible; eligibility also extends to
501(c)(3) non-profits, sole proprietors, independent contractors, and selfemployed
individuals.

Loan Amount:
The size of the loan can be up to 2.5 times the borrower's average monthly payroll costs incurred in the one year period prior to the loan date. For seasonal businesses, the calculation is based on the average total monthly payments for these payroll costs for the 12 weeks beginning on February 15, 2019 or for the period from March 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019.

Rate & Term:
Loans can be for as long as 10 years; maximum interest rate will be 4%.

Collateral:
There is no collateral requirement; loans are non-recourse - the business owners are not personally liable for the loan.

Documentation:
Proof of payrolls costs, rent/lease/mortgage costs, and utility costs. Must provide proof that the company is currently in operations and was in business prior to February 15, 2020. Will also need to provide proof of the number of full-time employees for pre and post covered periods. Employees include individuals employed on a full-time, part-time, or other basis.

Forgiveness:
An important feature of this program is that, if the borrower takes certain actions, the loans are forgivable. Costs paid by the borrower that can be applied for purposes of loan forgiveness are: (i) payroll costs; (ii) any payments of interest on mortgage obligations existing before February 15, 2020; (iii) any rent payments on leases existing before February 15, 2020, and (iv) any utility payments for utilities that were being provided as of February 15, 2020. The loan forgiveness is equal to the aggregate amount of these payments during the eightweek period from the date of loan origination. Limitation on credit for compensation paid to "highly paid" employees. Payroll costs per employee that can be deducted is capped at an amount that does not exceed the prorated portion of any individual compensation in excess of $100,000. To fully realize loan forgiveness, borrowers must maintain workforce. The amount of loan forgiveness is proportionally reduced by the percentage reduction of full-time employees (with an exemption for rehires), as well as by an amount equal to any reduction in compensation of any employee in excess of 25% (with exceptions for tipped employees).

Update Posted: 3/23/2020

SBA Offers Further Tips for Applying for a Disaster Loan

Late this afternoon, the Alabama Retail Association received an email from the Alabama District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration with further information about applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan. Alabama Retail is passing along this information as a service to our members.

From the SBA Alabama District Director:

Here are links to the announcement of the Alabama Disaster Declaration for the Coronavirus, as well as a fact sheet for applying for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Due to heavy traffic on the site, non-peak hours are 7 p.m. – 7 a.m. The Office of Disaster Assistance recommends using Edge or Internet Explorer, as some have experienced difficulty using Chrome. To prevent against delays in processing your application, please read all the steps carefully, and ensure that you provide all documentation asked for. There are upload/download prompts within the application.

Feel free to reach out to SBA’s resource partners located throughout Alabama if you need assistance with the application process. They are listed at https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/al/birmingham Click on Alabama District Office Resource Guide. Resource partners (Small Business Development Centers, SCORE chapters and The Catalyst) are listed beginning on page 11 and ending on Page 12.

REMINDER ON HOW TO APPLY

The Alabama Small Business Development Center Network has put together valuable information about what businesses need to do before applying:

After familiarizing yourself with the process, begin your application

COVID-19 resource page on Alabama Retail Association website
(Updated regularly as information becomes available.)

Update Posted: 3/20/2020

To Citizens Bank Customers,

We understand that the pandemic created by Covid-19 Coronavirus has caused tremendous financial distress for our customers. To help ease that strain, we have taken the aggressive step to provide a 90-day loan deferral for all commercial and consumer loan customers upon request. We will reassess the situation at the end of 90 days and may offer further deferrals if warranted. Please contact a Lender at your local branch for details an to arrange for the deferral form to be completed. Thank you for trusting us with your banking needs. We have been here for nearly 40 years and we have weathered every storm. We are still here for you and together we will make it through this crisis.

Sincerely,

Thoma W. Gulledge
President.

Update Posted: 3/19/2020

At Citizens Bank, we are a family of customers and employees living and serving in the communities we love. Your health and safety are a top priority as we closely monitor all reports from the CDC and State Health Department regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We have taken precautionary measures with your health and safety in mind and are focused on serving our communities with the dependability you’ve come to expect from Citizens Bank.

Effective Wednesday, March 18th, our branch locations in Robertsdale, Fairhope and Foley will operate with Drive-Thru services only. We are expanding our Drive-Thru services and will do our very best to accommodate any banking needs that are normally conducted in our lobby settings. For services that must be handled in a branch lobby, we ask that you contact your home branch directly to schedule an appointment with our Bankers who look forward to providing our customers with exceptional service.

We are committed to offering options that allow you to continue banking with ease. Our Online Banking and Mobile Banking let you check balances, view transactions, transfer funds and much more. You can make deposits to your accounts with Mobile Check Deposit and access cash 24 hours a day through our ATM’s. Please visit www.CitizensBankAL.com for more information on these services or contact a Banker for assistance enrolling in online or mobile banking.

Since 1981, Citizens Bank has been building relationships that last throughout Baldwin County. Now more than ever, you can count on us to continue making decisions with our neighbors and communities in mind.

All Branch Location Drive-Thru Hours are 8:30 am -5:00 pm Monday through Friday.
Saturday Drive Thru Hours are offered at the Robertsdale Branch only from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm.

Robertsdale Branch
21980 Palmer Street
Robertsdale, AL 36567
251-947-1981		 Fairhope Branch
905 Plantation Blvd.
Fairhope, AL 36532
251-990-9991		 Foley Branch
251 East Orange Ave.
Foley, AL 36535
251-970-2222

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