SOMERVILLE, MA (May 1, 2020) — Naveo Credit Union has assisted nearly 50 local small businesses through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in just two weeks. Naveo became an SBA-approved lender when the economy started to be impacted by COVID-19. Soon after their SBA approval, Naveo launched an internal CARES ACT PPP Loan Processing team who would streamline the process for applicants.
Many local, small business started reaching out to Naveo when the Stay-at-Home order was implemented in Massachusetts on available assistance through the federal government’s CARES ACT. As a community financial institution, Naveo wanted to ensure they were doing everything they could to assist not only members, but their business members and the community as a whole. Naveo made sure to let all the local business associations, their partners and friends know they were there to help. As of April 30, Naveo has done over 50 loans for over $3.2 million. The SBA states there is still plenty of money available, and Naveo continues to receive new applications on an hourly basis.
The businesses that have been helped through PPP have been quite pleased with their experience, even recommending Naveo to other business contacts. One of Naveo’s business members, Domenic Basile said, “We did everything in one day…it was very simple. It makes me very comfortable doing business with Naveo.” Jothy Rosenberg and John MacPhee of Dover Microsystems said, “You are our hero! With this $400k, we have a bridge to raising the capital we need to keep going. There are 15 very happy folks on our team today. We are grateful.”
“We are thrilled to be able to help our small business members weather the economic headwinds from the current pandemic,” commented Albert Pinho, Interim Chief Executive Officer and VP of Lending at Naveo Credit Union. “We are also thankful for a great Naveo team that has worked tirelessly day and night to navigate the SBA process to get urgent funding so these local businesses can keep their employees on the payroll.”
Naveo’s CARES ACT Team: Kevin George, Ginny Pinho, Kevin Monahan and Albert Pinho.
(www.naveo.org): A full service, not-for-profit credit union with branches in both Somerville and Cambridge, MA, which have been serving the community for over eighty-five years. Membership at Naveo is open to anyone who lives, works or attends school in Middlesex, Suffolk and parts of Essex counties. Naveo is a 170 million dollar credit union, serving nearly 10,000 members of diverse backgrounds.
Raquel Sa
VP of Marketing
617-702-5114
rsa@naveo.org
