Some Damage Reported as Winter Storm Cuts Power & Shuts Credit Union Branches

Freezing arctic air and snowfall that blasted into Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and portions of other states caused widespread power outages and dangerous road conditions forcing many credit unions to either shut down branches or close shop early on Tuesday.

Weather conditions were not expected to improve all that much into Tuesday evening and Wednesday that could delay power restoration efforts. according to national media weather reports,

Caroline Willard, president/CEO of the Cornerstone League said its headquarters in Plano, Texas, lost power but its emergency generator has been working. A pipe broke in the ceiling of the league’s Oklahoma facility and that damage was being repaired.

“We have activated our disaster response team to assist the hundreds of credit unions in the three-state Cornerstone footprint (Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas) who are without power and therefore closed for the day,” Willard said. “Reports are mixed about when the power will be back on. Some local residents and businesses have been without power since Sunday night, and some never lost it.”

Willard pointed out that one of the silver linings of the pandemic is that many credit unions have upgraded their digital delivery, so they were better prepared for remote operations than they would have been a year ago.

“With yesterday being a holiday and today requiring an emergency closure, some credit unions are concerned about processing their ACH files in a timely manner,” she said. “We’ve learned that NACHA will not be issuing a blanket grace period for delayed ACH and return processing, but case-by-case considerations may be given. We haven’t learned of any delays in armored delivery or ATM servicing, but we will continue to monitor the situation as we do in every disaster scenario.”

While many credit unions closed branches, a few managed to stay open including the $8.8 billion American Airlines Credit Union in Fort Worth, though it noted on its website that branch hours may vary and members may experience delays in services because of intermittent power outages.

Other credit unions have been hit hard by the widespread power outages in the Lone Star State.

The $2.1 billion Austin Telco Federal Credit Union, for example, said the inclement weather and severe power outages forced it to close all branches and administrative offices on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We are working hard to restore mobile and online banking services and have no ETA at this time,” the credit union said on its website Tuesday afternoon. At that time, more than 3.1 million residents and businesses throughout Texas had no power, according to poweroutage.us.

Because of expected record low temperatures and heavy bands of new snow on Tuesday night and into Wednesday, credit unions in Oklahoma such as the $5.3 billion Tinker Federal Credit Union in Oklahoma City, and the $1.2 billion WEOKIE Credit Union also based in Oklahoma City closed their branches early on Tuesday.

In Arkansas, which is also expected to get hit by freezing temps and more snow on Tuesday evening and Wednesday, the $1.5 billion Arkansas Federal Credit Union in Jacksonville closed its branches on Tuesday, while the $423 million Telcoe Federal Credit Union in Little Rock decided to shut down at least three locations, including its branch in Little Rock after showing video on its Facebook site that the city’s streets, covered in snow and ice, looked like a ghost town.

Other credit unions advised their members to use online or mobile banking options because it would be best to stay safe and warm at home.