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ICBA Honors Ulster Savings for Exceptional Service During COVID-19

Posted September 25, 2020


Washington, D.C. (Sept. 25, 2020)—The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) announced Ulster Savings Bank as a recipient of its 2020 National Community Bank Service Award for extraordinary efforts to help small businesses, consumers and their communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to support our friends and neighbors and humbled by this recognition from ICBA for doing what we’ve always done—supporting our community through good times and adversity,” said Bill Calderara, President and CEO at Ulster Savings Bank in Kingston, NY.

As consumers and small businesses in urban, suburban, and rural communities grappled with the onset of COVID-19, Ulster Savings Bank stepped up as a financial first responder and steward of its community by:
• Working nights and weekends to provide Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program assistance, processing over 455 loans, providing $34,405,749 in financial assistance, to save an estimated 4,731 jobs.

  • Waiving over $1.1 million dollars in fees.
  • Donating resources to support essential workers, businesses, local charities, and those in need with over $310,675 in donations, 1,339 volunteer hours benefiting over 139 local organizations.
  • Delivering gifts and a sense of hope when members of the community needed it most

“ICBA is proud to honor the extraordinary dedication and commitment of community bankers, whose spirit of service shined through when our country needed it most,” said ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey. “We are so fortunate to represent such thoughtful and compassionate community leaders, and we commend their efforts to go above and beyond, even during times of challenge.”

The 2020 National Community Bank Service Awards, presented by ICBA and sponsored by FIS, generated more than 100 inspirational stories from community banks like Ulster Savings Bank, a sampling of which is showcased in the September issue of ICBA’s award-winning magazine, Independent Banker.
ICBA founded the National Community Bank Service Awards program in 2002 to celebrate outstanding volunteer efforts and bring national recognition to the unmatched contributions community banks make to help sustain their communities.

About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® creates and promotes an environment where community banks flourish. With more than 50,000 locations nationwide, community banks constitute 99 percent of all banks, employ nearly 750,000 Americans and are the only physical banking presence in one in three U.S. counties. Holding more than $5 trillion in assets, nearly $4 trillion in deposits, and more than $3.4 trillion in loans to consumers, small businesses and the agricultural community, community banks channel local deposits into the Main Streets and neighborhoods they serve, spurring job creation, fostering innovation and fueling their customers’ dreams in communities throughout America. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at www.icba.org.

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