FirstBank, Oriental, Banco Popular and Santander resume their operations this Wednesday at their respective times, using in many cases their own generation systems in the absence of electrical service.
FirstBank reported that its branches, like Money Express, FirstBank Insurance and FirstMortgage mortgage centers will open on Wednesday after finding that their operations did not register major damages with the 6.4 degree earthquake that shook Puerto Rico in the early hours of yesterday.
Similarly, Oriental reported that it opens its operations on Wednesday and urged that employees with particular situations because of the emergency communicate it to their immediate supervisors.
“We have reviewed our facilities to know in what state they have been after the earthquakes that have affected Puerto Rico. So far, all our headquarters and branches will be operating while energy electric permit, ”said Popular’s chief executive officer, Ignacio Álvarez, in written statements last night. “We will be very aware of what is happening to safeguard the safety of our customers and employees that is the main thing right now”.
Santander, on the other hand, informed through its Twitter account that after evaluating its facilities and the branch network it will also resume operations on a regular schedule.
The three institutions urged their clients to use their online banking and telephone banking services, as well as their ATMs.
However, banking institutions resume their services, using a good part of their facilities their own power generation systems. This, after the absence of service by the Electric Power Authority.
About two years ago, after the onslaught of Hurricane Maria and although measures were taken with the Federal Reserve of New York so that cash was not lacking on the island, the banking system operated with serious difficulties, once telecommunications and service were interrupted Electric was inoperative for weeks and even months. Particularly, the banking sector faced problems in its operations outside the metropolitan area, especially in the geographical area now affected by the earthquakes this week, to the point that in certain municipalities, credit unions were the only place of access to cash for the population.
The situation led financial institutions to make million-dollar investments to improve their redundancy systems in telecommunications and electrical generators to the point of creating own inventories of parts and other attachments as well as recruiting personnel to ensure the operation of electric generators.
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