News

Louisiana bank earns quality award for Katrina response

April 30, 2006

HERNDON, Va. - Parish National Bank of Covington, La., received NACHA's 2006 Kevin O'Brien ACH Quality Award for its disaster and business-continuity planning and efforts to provide customers with ACH-payment services after Hurricane Katrina. 

According to a news release, the award will be accepted May 8 by Joe Omner, Parish National's chief operating officer, at NACHA's Payments 2006 Conference in San Diego.

"Parish National Bank is an outstanding example of the many banks and credit unions in the Gulf Coast region that made heroic efforts to restore banking and financial services to consumers and businesses after the storm," NACHA president and chief executive Elliott C. McEntee said. "Providing customers with access to funds, including through the restoration of ACH payment processing, was critical for residents and businesses affected by the storm."      

Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, resulting in widespread communication and electrical outages that disrupted banking services. Equipped with a portable generator and a satellite phone, the bank's operations center became home to several bank employees and their families. 

Read also, Katrina's impact on ATM industry hard to assess and Gulf Coast is on the mend.