As lawmakers in Washington DC spar over the need for a new border wall, some federal workers throughout the country are left with their backs against the wall as paychecks are absent during the government shutdown.
Now, more local businesses in San Diego are looking to ease the pressure weighing on furloughed federal workers.
NBC 7 has covered numerous businesses giving discounts on food and other items for those workers. Now, several San Diego credit unions are following their lead.
So far, four credit unions have announced they will offer zero-percent loans for federal workers to try and get them over the wall imposed by the shutdown in Washington DC.
On Wednesday, California Coast Credit Union offered any federal workers, regardless of whether they are members of the credit union or not, zero-interest loans on their paychecks as well as 90-day loan deferments for those who have loans from Cal Coast.
“Regardless if they have auto loans, real estate loans, credit cards, if they have a loan with us we will do a loan modification to allow them to skip payments until payroll starts back up again,” said Todd Lane, Chief Executive Officer for Cal Coast Credit Union.
Lane told NBC 7 the credit union would also front federal employees their checks at zero-percent interest.
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“We are going to give it to them as they would normally get paid,” said Lane. “So, say they make $3,000 every pay period, we’ll loan them the amount of their paycheck.”
In addition to Cal Coast, Cabrillo Credit Union, Navy Federal Credit Union, and San Diego County Credit Union are also offering financial assistance for furloughed federal employees.
Update: Since publishing the article representatives from North Island Credit Union contacted NBC 7 with details of how they too are helping furloughed federal employees. Check with your bank or credit union to see what they are doing as well.
