STCU will take a pause during difficult year, connect with staff

Banking customers will have to wait next week to do anything other than online banking at Spokane Teachers Credit Union. The business is taking a pause for one day, on Oct. 21, during a difficult year to connect with staff.

STCU facilities will open late – at 10 a.m. – for the first time in its 86-year history, STCU President and CEO Ezra Eckhardt said in a news release. The organization is getting all of its 734 employees together, virtually, to talk about their work.

“We’ll celebrate their successes and remind them of all the ways STCU has helped our members and the community in 2020,” Eckhardt said. “Mostly, we just want to connect.”

Under state guidelines, financial institutions are essential businesses, and STCU has kept most of its branch locations open to provide full service for its 210,000 members. The credit union helped many of its members cope with lost income, and worked to get 1,100 of business members loans or grants through the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

STCU also partnered with smaller credit unions to ensure they had access to the PPP loans administered through the U.S. Small Business Association.

On Oct. 21, all STCU branches, drive-thrus and other facilities will open later but customers will have full access to bank online.

“We’re doing our best to let every member know about this one-day adjustment,” Eckhardt said. “Our members constantly tell us that they love the STCU team, and we know they’ll understand the importance of taking this time to check in with them.”

Reporter Thomas Clouse can be reached at (509) 953-0561 or at tomc@spokesman.com