COVID-19 Market Updates
Girard Town Hall Call
Listen as Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer, and Jim Jacobson, SVP and Wealth Advisor, discuss the global economy and capital markets amid the COVID-19 outbreak as well as provide context and perspective to the recent market volatility.*
Rest Assured. We Are Here.
As you are aware, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and which has now been detected in many locations internationally, including cases in the United States. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”).
In light of the global spread of COVID-19, we wanted to reassure you that Univest Bank and Trust Co. and its subsidiaries, including Univest Insurance, LLC, Univest Capital, Inc., and Girard, a Univest Wealth Division (Univest), is taking precautions to protect the health and safety of our employees and customers, while continuing to serve our customers.
While the situation continues to evolve and the final impact remains unknown, we have proactively reviewed our business continuity and response plans and do not anticipate any scenario that would impede our ability to continue to provide the service you have come to expect at Univest. Our executive team meets daily to review the most current guidance from CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), and state and local authorities and make proactive adjustments to our plans.
In addition, we have established a company-wide reporting process to identify any employee with emerging symptoms consistent with the flu or COVID-19 and take immediate actions to reduce exposure to other employees and customers. Business and personal travel of our employees is being monitored, and we have imposed a CDC-recommended self-quarantine for those returning from locations of concern.
Serving the needs of our customers is of utmost importance. As you may be aware, Univest has been strategically focused on numerous digital initiatives. By leveraging secure digital technologies, we have enabled employees serving critical functions to work remotely if necessary to ensure continuous, uninterrupted service to our customers.
If you are visiting a Girard office, please know we are open for business. However, we request that visitors to Girard who have had flu-like symptoms or traveled to certain locations in the 14 days prior to visiting Girard adapt any in-person meetings to a phone call or video conference. Those countries currently include China, Iran, South Korea and Italy. Please work with your Girard advisor to make arrangements accordingly. Please visit meetgirard.com/updates for any relevant updates on this situation.
While we respect the uncertainties inherent in the coronavirus outbreak, we believe we are well prepared to respond to the possible impact with operational redundancies, customer-focused employees, and current business continuity plans and resources.
At Univest, we are committed to protecting the health and well-being of our employees and our customers. Please be assured that we continue to monitor new developments and guidance issued by the CDC, WHO and other regulatory agencies related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Thank you for your cooperation as we take important steps to ensure the safety of our employees and customers.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey M. Schweitzer
President and CEO
Univest Financial Corporation
*This video is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. The information in this video, and any opinions expressed therein, do not constitute a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. Viewers should consult with their financial and/or legal professionals before making any financial decisions.