Premier Valley Bank image via shopriverpark.com

The parent company of Premier Valley Bank in Fresno announced it had processed $1.5 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans before it stopped accepting new requests Monday.

Heartland Financial USA , Inc. operates 11 community banks in the U.S., including Fresno-based Premier Valley Bank after a 2015 acquisition.

Heartland Financial banks received more than 7,000 combined loan requests from its banks in 72 hours after the program launched April 3.

No individual figures were released by Heartland in a news release as to how much of that lending activity took place at Premier Valley Bank alone, but it was requested Friday by The Business Journal.

“We had been closely monitoring developments and preparing to be agile to accommodate the many changes introduced by the SBA, so that we were able to support our customers and communities during this time of need,” said Lo Nestman, president and CEO of Premier Valley Bank.

“Our small business customers across the country have struggled to navigate the complexity and changing requirements of the Paycheck Protection Program and we have hosted educational webinars, built resource centers on our bank websites and individually consulted with customers to provide support and assist them in calculating payroll costs and completing applications correctly,” Lestman added in a statement.

Premier Valley Bank commands about 2% of the local market share for banks, according to The Business Journal’s Financial Institutions list, ranked as of June 2018.

Congress appropriated $350 billion in the Paycheck Protection Program to provide 1% loans to small businesses. If the businesses meet certain thresholds for maintaining payroll levels, or spend the funds on mortgage, rent or utility payments, it can be forgivable.

Congress is currently debating a Trump Administration proposal to infuse another $250 billion into the program, which is administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Heartland said its banks have enacted their own programs to support clients and its own team members. Clients have seen waived account maintenance and ATM fees and penalties on early redemption of CDs and deferrals on loan payments.

Most Heartland employees are working from home, and employees unable to work due to illness, school and daycare closures are subject to a “liberal pandemic time off program” that provides 100% compensation through May 31.

Heartland is also paying front line workers in its branches and call centers a premium and has offered 100% coverage for health care expenses related to COVID-19.

“Our employees take care of our customers every day and are the reason for our success, and during these unprecedented times, our number one priority is the health and safety of the Heartland family,” said Bruce K. Lee, president and CEO of Iowa-based Heartland Financial USA, Inc., in a statement. “We want our employees to take care of themselves, their families and each other and not worry about a paycheck.”