Citizens offers hurricane support

Citizens Bank is offering a range of financial support services to individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Northeast that were affected by Hurricane Irene.Existing customers in New Hampshire, Delaware, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont are eligible for special products created in response to the hurricane that hit the East Coast August 28 and 29.The bank said it will provide $10,000 unsecured emergency loans at 5 percent for up to seven years with no prepayment penalty to those existing customers affected by the storm. The bank is also offering 0 percent interest credit cards for six months, with credit lines up to $15,000. That is also available for small businesses.In addition, the bank is offering disaster bridge loans for small business and nonprofit customers that have applied for federal disaster aid assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration as part of the federal government’s response to hurricane Irene.”We hope this support provides the immediate resources people need to clean up from the devastation left by the hurricane,” said Joe Carelli president, Citizens Bank, New Hampshire.For additional information on the SBA programs and qualifying areas please call 1-800-659-2955.For more information, call 888-850-4068. — NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW