Umpqua Bank

The Oregon bank has launched a new division targeting businesses with up to $15 million in annual sales and tapped the banker who led its Paycheck Protection Program lending, Ashley Hayslip, to run it.

The Liberty Lake, Wash.-based credit union has agreed to buy four branches from the Roseburg, Ore.-based bank.

Many banks are offering low-interest loans to help consumers and small businesses withstand the economic shocks of the pandemic. Some are also doing away with ATM, overdraft and late fees because, as one CEO put it, that revenue “is not the most important thing right now.”

Whether it’s applying for a loan through a mobile app or building an investment portfolio via robo adviser, users want to know they can quickly and easily speak to a human being if they run into problems, top executives said at American Banker’s Digital Banking conference this week.

As banks push customers to digital channels, they are losing opportunities to help and connect with consumers, according to Rilla Delorier, an executive vice president at the Oregon bank.