COVID19-Internal

• Community banks, and especially Bryant Bank, learned from the financial crisis of 2008 and have made significant changes over the years to position ourselves for success when times like this arise.
• Bryant Bank is privately owned and decisions are made by local bankers. Together, we are staying calm and working alongside customers to help them during this time.
• Bryant Bank is known as one of Alabama’s strongest community banks based on our levels of capital and liquidity and is well suited to assist our customers with their needs during this time, and all times.
• Our mission is to put care into action to help Alabamians invest in their full potential. We are here for you during the good times and the challenging times.  We want to see you experience a financially stable future and will work with you to help make that happen.

• The Bank is actively working through ideas of how we can best assist our customers. With guidance from regulators, we are confident that we can be a collaborative partner during these difficult times.
• If a customer has specific requests at this time, please work with your manager or market leader for approval.

• During vulnerable times like this, cybercriminals are racing to capitalize on those fears with phishing emails designed to steal personal information and money. Customers need to be vigilant and use common sense before clicking on an email.
• Even with some Bryant Bankers working remotely, we will continue to follow protocol and will never ask a customer for personal information by email.
• Please remember to ask customers to confirm their contact information when they contact the bank. It is more important than ever to have accurate contact information in case we need to communicate with them.

Here are some tips for both Bryant Bankers and our customers:

• Ongoing vigilance with emails and email attachments.  It’s a best practice to not click on links in emails, rather, open up your browser and type in the name of the website yourself.
• Only go to legitimate government sources and authoritative media sites.  Avoid the “click bait” of catchy or scary headlines in social media, search results, or ads.
• Don’t click on links that come through text messages or Twitter feeds.  It’s a common method to lure you to fake sites.  Open up a browser and go to the legitimate site.
• Never, ever, ever, under any circumstances provide logins or passwords to someone who is requesting them.  This includes by phone, email, text, etc.  Our own IT and security teams will never ask you this information.
• If something doesn’t seem right – it’s probably wrong.  Take the time to look at emails and attachments – alert someone if it seems askew.

The marketing team has developed a communication plan that utilizes multiple communication channels. Bryant Bank leadership will also provide regular staff updates on various communications and resources available to Bankers and customers.

At this time, all non-essential meetings, functions, and events utilizing the Bryant Bank Community Rooms have been cancelled.  We will reevaluate this on April 30th.  Please continue to check in with your local branch manager for Community Room requests.

If you must meet with a Bryant Banker in person, please keep a minimum of 6-feet distance from one another. Also, please avoid any handshakes and hugs.  We promise to still provide you with unbeatable service!  Also, for security reasons, customers wearing masks must use our drive-thru.

You can view your current and past statements in your secure online banking account. You can also go paperless by enrolling in online statements. After you log in to online banking, simply enroll by selecting Transactions and then E-Statements.

The safest place for your money is in the bank. Deposits are insured up to FDIC limits.  
Click here for more information.  Bryant Bank’s federal regulator, the FDIC, regularly examines the bank to make sure we have detailed, tested disaster recovery procedures and business resumption plans.  Regardless of our operating conditions, your money is safe.

Yes. The FDIC has a team of subject matter experts available to answer your questions. Please call 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342) and ask to speak to a Deposit Insurance Subject Matter Expert between 8:30AM- 5:00PM Monday-Friday.

If you prefer, you can also contact the FDIC in writing through our FDIC Deposit Insurance Form via the FDIC Information and Support Center at:
https://ask.fdic.gov/fdicinformationandsupportcenter/s/

Every bank in the country is required by law to have disaster recovery and business continuity plans in place with multiple backup systems. Bryant Bank’s federal regulator, the FDIC, regularly examines the bank to make sure we have detailed, tested disaster recovery procedures and business resumption plans.   The safest place for your money is in the bank because it’s insured up to
FDIC limits and accessible, thanks to bank technology that allows you to pay bills, make deposits, and send payments from anywhere, anytime.

The Federal Reserve System has and will continue to meet the currency needs of banking customers. Be assured that sufficient resources are available to handle customer needs. You are encouraged to continue to conduct transactions as you normally would. Credit and debit cards and other payment systems will operate as normal.

We encourage our customers to schedule branch appointments to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Please call your local branch to make arrangements, or you can use our contact us form on our website.

Items kept in your safe deposit box are not insured by the bank or the FDIC. You are responsible for insuring the contents of the safe deposit box, for example through your homeowner’s policy.

Prior to coming to the bank, please contact your local Bryant Banker so that all of the prep can be done prior to your arrival.  When everything is ready, you may visit the Bank’s drive-thru and we will finish out the transaction.

We will work with both existing customers and new customers to open accounts. Information is important in opening an account, so please call your local Bryant Bank office first.  They will take care of getting things set up so that all you have to do is sign documents and receive your debit card when coming through the drive-thru.

Yes! You can deposit and make withdrawals from our ATMs. And, did you know that we reimburse ATM fees if you visit another financial institution’s ATM? Just call your local Bryant Banker and they’ll get the fee reimbursed for you!

Yes! Our night depository’s remain available.  Envelopes and deposit slips are provided above the night depository.   Please include a completed deposit slip with the items you are depositing.  If making a payment, please include your loan number on the envelope.  Please refer to the notice on your night depository for information about when items will be processed.

No, you must be a Bryant Bank customer. In this situation, please visit the institution that the check is drawn on.  If the individual will be in our area for an extended period of time due to COVID-19, please ask them to consider opening an account subject to our standard account opening procedures.

For customers who are making withdrawals from CDs due to cash flow issues related to COVID-19, please waive the early withdrawal penalty fee.

For customers who need to send wire transfers to friends and/or family due to COVID-19, wire fees may be waived.

For customers who are impacted due to COVID-19, consideration of NSF fee rebate may be applicable.

Understand that some people may take advantage of COVID-19 by using fraudulent websites, phone calls, emails, and text messages claiming to offer “help” but may be trying to trick people into providing Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and other valuable details. Do not divulge your bank or credit card numbers or other personal information over the phone unless you initiated the conversation with the other party and you know that it is a reputable organization. In addition, you should be cautious about online solicitations. Be on guard against imposters who contact you claiming to be government employees or volunteers and who ask for personal financial information or money. Reject offers to cash a check for someone in exchange for a fee, even if the bank makes the funds available to you right away, as it may later turn out that the check was fraudulent.

HIPAA laws prohibit us from answering this question directly, but nothing is more important than the health and safety of our staff and our customers. We continue to follow the latest guidelines from the CDD in all of our facilities.   This includes expanded cleaning of our public areas and work spaces, expanded use of hand sanitizer and social distancing.  In addition, we have asked many of our Bryant Bankers to work from home to limit their exposure risk and further protect our customers.

Currently, there are no known findings from studies on the survivability and transmissibility of the virus on and/or through cash and currency. Per the
CDC’s statement on the spread of the virus from contact with contaminated surfaces or objects:

Depending on the type of surface, the virus can stay on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days, according to the WHO. A
recent study by scientists in the U.S. found that viable virus could be detected up to three hours later in the air, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. Viruses can survive on hard surfaces like coins for days in some cases. U.S. dollars, a blend of fabric and paper, are harder for viruses to stick to. (Source:
USAToday) Meanwhile, the WHO says it is very unlikely that the virus will persist on a surface after being moved, traveled and exposed to different conditions and temperatures

It is possible to become infected if you touch your face after touching a surface or object that has the virus on it, according to the CDC. But scientists don’t think surfaces are the main way that the virus spreads; the most common form of infection is from respiratory droplets spread by a person’s cough or sneeze, the CDC reports.