By Jay McKenna, President and COO

Well, we certainly live in interesting times! Since my note to you last week, things have changed, and quite frankly not for the better. Federal, state, and local officials have really turned up the volume on their alarms, with drastic actions on closures. Our sense of what is normal and routine has been turned upside down, without a real end in sight. Conditions seem to be changing by the minute.

At North Shore Bank, we have made the decision to restrict lobby traffic in most of our offices. At the Corporate office, we have dispersed people to work in branches or to remote-access from their homes when feasible. For those remaining, we are practicing “social distancing.”

Again, I cannot and will not predict where this is all heading. But with the recent closure activity, it is safe to assume that our economy, national and local, will take a hit. Certainly some business and personal customers will be adversely affected.

At some point, this will end and we will have come through it. I continue to remain optimistic that, with the full power of all governmental bodies behind the effort, a solution will come. When? remains the big question. In the meantime, rest assured that we are strong, stable, highly liquid, and ready to work with our customers.

At North Shore Bank, we play a crucial role in the lives of our customers and communities, perhaps now more than ever. We are indeed an “essential” service. Each one of you who makes up North Shore is a very important part of what is going to keep our country and communities strong and stable. While we all feel unsettled right now, please remember that by continuing to serve our customers and communities, you are part of something positive, great, and very important! Be very proud of what you do every day!

In the meantime, senior management continues to meet on a very frequent basis to keep up on matters as they evolve. Molly Schissler will continue to keep you posted as necessary.

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed or anxious, please reach out to the EAP. That resource is there for you.

On a personal note, I will let you know that I feel very proud to come to work each day at such a strong and critically important institution, and to work with such great colleagues. We are all in this together!