Business View Magazine | January 2021

269 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JANUARY 2021 PEOPLE ’ S CREDI T UNION The credit union managers also quickly adapted to provide as many services as they could, car- side, including closing loans, notarizing, and opening accounts, along with the more typical deposits and withdrawals. Founded on Aquidneck Island in 1922, The People’s Credit Union’s seven founding members wanted an institution that would provide financial solutions for the community. According to Daly, “Our founders didn’t feel there was an institution on the island that could service the citizens in the way they thought they should be serviced – giving them the products they needed at a fair price.” Today, People’s Credit Union has 44,000 members, six branches and more than $555 million in assets. They offer the full range of products and services you’d expect from a financial institution, but with the added benefit of listening to their members’ needs before offering solutions. They pride themselves on making personal connections with members to ensure they get the products and services they need to reach their financial goals. One of the ways they helped the community when the pandemic started was to quickly evolve credit union processes to help eligible businesses maximize their use of the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program; processing hundreds of loans averaging $44,000 each and totalling around $6 million worth of lending with the Small Business Administration. It was all hands on deck to get as many applications as possible through before the funding was exhausted. “We drafted a diverse team around the organization, including senior management, to help businesses fill out the paperwork working long hours for a month,” explains Daly. “It was an interesting time because the rules were constantly changing so we were having to adjust as we went. Other institutions were inundated as well and not able to help their smaller customers, so we focused on helping other non-members in the community. They would call us and say, “I can’t get through, they won’t call me back at Bank