Peapack-Gladstone Bank Announces Focus on -- and Assistance for -- Clients, Employees and Communities Affected by COVID-19
Bedminster, NJ - (NewMediaWire) - March 19, 2020 - Peapack-Gladstone Bank, the wholly
owned subsidiary of Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: PGC), has announced precautionary measures intended to mitigate
the impact of the COVID-19 virus on its employees, clients and communities.
“Our main concern is the health
and well-being of our employees and their families,” stated Douglas L. Kennedy,
President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our employees’ health and well-being is
essential to supporting our clients during this difficult time, as well as the
communities where we live and work. We are taking precautions and making
necessary adjustments in everyday operations and interactions to safeguard
everyone. And, we remain committed to reacting responsibly to this evolving
situation.”
The Bank has a long history of
appropriately managing risk, while supporting clients during times of economic
stress. The Holding Company and the Bank have investment grade ratings
from both Moody’s and Kroll Bond Rating Agency. These ratings reflect a
thoughtful, well-diversified business model, along with strong levels of both
capital and liquidity. Given this solid financial profile, the Bank believes it
is well-positioned to provide clients the necessary support during this
crisis.
“We have elevated our client
communications, offering tailored and flexible solutions that will accommodate
increased working capital and liquidity needs,” Kennedy said.
In addition, streamlined
processes to enhance emergency overdrafts and over-limit advances have been put
in place. As an SBA Preferred Lender, the Bank is prepared to quickly
implement any emergency programs enacted by the government, to support affected
small businesses. The Bank also offers an Insured Liquidity Sweep
account, which provides millions of dollars in FDIC insurance, beyond $250,000,
for clients seeking daily liquidity and safety.
In support of the
recommendations of public health authorities and to encourage “social
distancing,” Peapack-Gladstone Bank has modified branch operations and has
temporarily eliminated lobby services at all locations. Drive-up services
remain fully operational, along with the Bank’s entire ATM network; including
its surcharge free ATM program through Allpoint. All online services remain
operational as well, and clients are encouraged to continue to leverage PGB
NetAccess Online Banking and Mobile Banking solutions. Clients who
require access to safe deposit boxes, or have other in-person needs, are being
accommodated through appointments.
A comprehensive list of
Peapack-Gladstone Bank retail, wealth management and ATM locations is available
at www.pgbank.com.
For the safety of its
employees, the Bank has proactively adopted the following precautions:
·
Relaxed sick, carry over and PTO day policies.
· A
rotating remote work schedule to limit interactions of large groups of
employees and encourage social distancing.
· All
discretionary business travel has been suspended, and the Bank is monitoring
all personal travel.
· Employee
volunteer efforts have been suspended.
·
Sanitization efforts enterprise-wide have been increased.
· Remote
working technologies, like virtual meetings, are being leveraged.
· All
on-site third-party vendor meetings have been suspended.
One of the Bank’s Core
Principles is supporting the community by proactively reinvesting in the areas
with the greatest need. And, although employee volunteer efforts have
been suspended, the Bank will continue to support the non-profit community during
this time, by providing additional funds to organizations hit hard by the
pandemic. Peapack-Gladstone Bank is proud of its commitment to the areas
where its employees and clients live, work and play, and understands these
organizations will face challenges in the days and months ahead.
Peapack-Gladstone Bank is proud of its nearly 100-year-old heritage of standing
behind its local communities in times of need; today is no different.
The Company previously
addressed many of these initiatives in an investor deck, which was filed with
the SEC on March 11, 2020.
ABOUT PEAPACK-GLADSTONE BANK
Founded
in 1921, Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation is a New Jersey bank holding
company with total assets of $5.2 billion and wealth management assets under
management and/or administration of $7.5 billion as of December 31, 2019.
Peapack-Gladstone Bank is a commercial bank that provides innovative wealth
management, commercial and retail solutions, including residential lending and
online platforms, to businesses and consumers. For over four generations,
Peapack Private, the Bank’s wealth management division, has offered
comprehensive financial, tax, fiduciary and investment advice and solutions, to
individuals, families, privately held businesses, family offices and
not-for-profit organizations, which help them establish, maintain and expand
their legacy. Together, Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Peapack Private offer
an unparalleled commitment to client dedication and service. Visit www.pgbank.com and www.peapackprivate.com for
more information.
The foregoing may contain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such statements are not historical facts and include expressions
about Management’s confidence and strategies and Management’s expectations
about new and existing programs and products, investments, relationships,
opportunities and market conditions. These statements may be identified
by such forward-looking terminology as “expect,” “look,” “believe,”
“anticipate,” “may,” or similar statements or variations of such terms.
Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to:
· our
inability to successfully grow our business and implement our strategic plan,
including an inability to generate revenues to offset the increased personnel
and other costs related to the strategic plan;
· the
impact of anticipated higher operating expenses in 2020 and beyond;
· our
inability to successfully integrate wealth management firm acquisitions;
· our
inability to manage our growth;
· our
inability to successfully integrate our expanded employee base;
· an
unexpected decline in the economy, in particular in our New Jersey and New York
market areas;
· declines
in our net interest margin caused by the interest rate environment and/or our
highly competitive market;
· declines
in value in our investment portfolio;
· higher
than expected increases in loan and lease losses or in the level of nonperforming
loans;
· changes
in interest rates;
· decline
in real estate values within our market areas;
·
legislative and regulatory actions (including the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Basel III and related regulations)
that may result in increased compliance costs;
·
successful cyberattacks against our IT infrastructure and that of our IT,
customers and third-party providers;
· higher
than expected FDIC insurance premiums;
· adverse
weather conditions;
· our
inability to successfully generate new business in new geographic markets;
· our
inability to execute upon new business initiatives;
· a lack
of liquidity to fund our various cash obligations;
· reduction
in our lower-cost funding sources;
· our
inability to adapt to technological changes;
· claims
and litigation pertaining to fiduciary responsibility, environmental laws and
other matters;
· our
inability to retain key employees;
· a
reduction in demand for loans and deposits in our market areas;
· adverse
changes in securities markets;
· changes
in accounting policies and practices;
· effects
related to a prolonged shutdown of the federal government which could impact
SBA and other government lending programs; and
· other
unexpected material adverse changes in our operations or earnings.
Except as may be required by applicable law or
regulation, the Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking
statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the
Company’s expectations. Although we believe that the expectations
reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot
guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
Denise M. Pace-Sanders
908-470-3322
dpace@pgbank.com