ELLENVILLE – Efforts to try and bring some economic life back to the Ellenville and Wawarsing area continue, this time evidenced by local attorney Michael Siegel's plans to create a local bank program. Siegel, whose office is located on North Main Street in the village, is currently the executive director of the Greater Wawarsing Local Development Corporation, and this newest idea was recently revealed at a local business panel discussion held at Ellenville's Government Center last Monday.

"We have been working to build a community bank here for economic development in the town, and we tried linking up the local banks with the USDA [United States Department of Agriculture] in an interesting program," said Siegel last week.

"We have available to us federal guarantees for commercial loans that would help banks lower their risk in giving out commercial loans. And since banks have tightened up their underwriting criteria for commercial loans, with our local banks and with the banking industry right now, the highest incidents of defaults are in commercial loans. So it's becoming much more difficult to get a commercial loan. And since we're about trying to bring businesses into the town, and helping them get financing, we are looking at ways at loosening up credit for commercial loans," he said.

Through the USDA Office of Rural Development, the program looks to work with local banks to increase the number of commercial loans given to businesses. The loans would be guaranteed by the federal government so as to allow banks to begin lending more, the lack of which has been a problem since the financial crisis and recession hit late last year.

The project had hit a snag, however. "All the local banks have agreed to participate in exploring this option with us," said Siegel, referring to Provident Bank, M&T Bank, and Catskill Hudson Bank, "except for Bank of America."

The initial lack of support prompted the attorney to draft a letter to President Barack Obama himself, sending copies to Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressman Maurice Hinchey, and this newspaper as well. In the letter, Siegel points to the irony of the banking giant's recent government bail-out, and it seeming unwillingness to "return the favor."

However, during the ensuing days, it seems as though Bank of America was able to revisit the issue with a new answer.

"Essentially, this was a scheduling conflict," said Ann Pace, a spokesperson for Bank of America, late last week. Since then, she said, their local team had spoken to Siegel and set up a meeting to explore the community bank program, which Siegel later confirmed.

"I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Paul Sola, who is their five-county business regional loan officer, came to my office…and we had a very substantial discussion, and we've agreed to have more discussions," he said. "I feel like we've at least got them to the table and it's looking like they are going to become a partner."

Siegel hopes to announce the program officially within a week or two, and until then is working with the banks, the county, and the USDA Office of Rural Development on the details.

"We are going to be rolling out a community bank very shortly, together with [Ulster] County. They're working with us to help do that. We're very excited about it, and we think that it is going to be a great thing for the businesses that seek to relocate in this area."

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