Greenfield Co-operative Bank Announces New Payment Option During Pandemic

GREENFIELD — Michael Tucker, president and CEO of Greenfield Co-operative Bank and its Northampton Cooperative Bank division, announced that the community bank board has approved a program to provide a ‘payment holiday’ for existing GCB customers who have a portfolio loan at GCB to defer making their monthly payments coming up in April and May for up to 60 days.

For eligible customers who wish to opt in, there will be a simple form to complete. The payments usually due for April and May would simply be added to the back end of the loan term. Customers would then not have to make those payments until the end of the original term. The term would be extended two months to allow those payments to be made at the end of the original term. 

Any existing GCB loan customer (residential, home equity, or commercial) who is in good standing (defined in as not more than 60 days past due and no other defaults on the loan) are eligible.

The bank will have available on its website a secure ‘contact us’ area with the form that customers must sign (electronically or print out and sign traditionally) to indicate they want to opt into this program. When the bank receives the form, it will call the customer to verify the information and that they want to take advantage of this program. Once they are in good standing, an e-mail will confirm if they are accepted into this program. 

Those who complete the process by April 20 will have the April and May payments deferred. Those who complete the process between April 20 and May 15 would still have to make the April payment, but would defer the May and June payments. Since this is to address the current situation, this program will not be available after these dates. Also, those with fixed-rate Federal National Mortgage Assoc. (FNMA) loans serviced by GCB will not be able to access the program at this time. The bank is awaiting word from FNMA to see what might be available and will notify the public if circumstances change.