Many local banks close lobbies, see uptick in business

Local banks and credit unions are taking measures to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, while the economic climate is causing business to increase in areas such as mortgage refinancing.

Chuck Eble, president and chief executive officer of Valley Bank of Kalispell, said has been a slight increase in people withdrawing large sums of money, “but not to a large degree.”

Eble said “to a certain degree” the increase in large withdrawals is happening nationwide, similar to what happened during the recession that began in 2008.

He said customers need to understand their deposits are still insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, and there is no reason to make a run on banks for cash, as some are inclined to do in the face of an economic downturn.

“The bank is the safest place for it [your money],” Eble said.

Robert Nystuen, market president of Glacier Bank, agreed, saying there are “so many different ways” people’s money is protected and “customers have faith and confidence” in the bank’s ability to keep their money safe.

Eble said lobbies are open at Valley Bank locations, but the bank is “literally monitoring the COVID-19 situation by the hour.” Meanwhile he said there has been a decrease in foot traffic in the Kalispell bank lobby.

“We believe we’re doing as much as we can to sanitize our bank lobby,” Eble said.

Glacier Bank made the decision to close all its bank lobbies starting on Friday morning, according to Nystuen.

“We’ll still have a full complement of other services,” Nystuen said, such as drive-thru tellers, ATMs and online banking.

An employee of Whitefish Credit Union confirmed all the branches have closed their lobbies, though drive-thru tellers remain available.

Banks have seen an increase in people refinancing their homes as mortgage rates have fallen. According to NerdWallet’s mortgage-rate tracker, the average 30-year fixed annual percentage rate was near a historic low at 3.33% on March 9. The average rate was over 5% as recently as early November.

Other factors have since pushed the average rate up slightly, but it is still relatively low and expected to stay low.

The Federal Reserve cut the benchmark U.S. interest rate to near zero earlier this week.

According to The Mortgage Bankers Association, “refinance applications have jumped five-fold since 2019.” Glacier Bank has been part of this increase, as Nystuen said applications for refinancing jumped last month and there has been “a fair amount of activity” since then. But he added that “mortgage rates are fluid” and there are “a lot of ups-and-downs” throughout the year.

Eble said Valley Bank has also seen an increase in homeowners looking to refinance, along with an increase in customers buying new homes.

“Customers are looking at existing interest rates … and determining whether it would be a good time to refinance” or buy, Eble said. Based on the increase in activity, customers are deciding to take advantage of low rates.

But customers who want to work with banks on this option largely will have to do so over the telephone, for now.

Nystuen said Glacier Bank’s call center will be fully staffed. “If you have questions, call us,” he said.

“We’re going to work our way through this, just like in the past when the country has faced economic challenges.”

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.