Paychecks trapped in limbo Bank of Saipan debacle shuts in some employees’ salaries

Twenty-eight employees of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation who usually receive their salaries through direct deposits at the Bank of Saipan may not get their salaries today.

This comes even as Finance Secretary Frank Villanueva assures that Executive Branch employees with direct deposit arrangements with the BoS have nothing to worry about as they will receive their salaries today through paychecks.

In the case of Public School System, however, PSS Director of Finance Richard Waldo said that, due to a computer glitch, the Bank of Guam cannot change the data that the PSS had already sent them, so PSS employees with direct deposit arrangements with the BoS must open an account with the Bank of Guam to get their salaries.

With the reopening of the BoS still in limbo, it was found out that the salaries of 28 CUC employees in Saipan, Tinian and Rota have already been “pulled” into their accounts in the bank. It remains to be seen as to when these employees will be able to access their salaries since, as of press time, there was no announcement yet on when the bank intends to open for business.

CUC spokesperson Pamela Mathis refused to categorically say that the 28 employees would not receive their salaries today, besides saying what they are doing right now is providing information to the Board of Directors and the Executive Director so that they can make decisions.

When asked on the immediate consequence of the situation, however, she said: “That 28 employees don’t have a paycheck [today].”

Some government employees and salaried staff of autonomous agencies receive their salaries through what is called direct deposit or automatic deposit. For government employees, their salaries are routed from the Treasury through the Federal Register. The receiving bank where the employees maintain an account would then access the Federal Register to “pull”—or get—the money intended for their client.

In the case of CUC, it keeps its accounts in the Bank of Guam, which means that payroll money goes from the CUC to the Bank of Guam, then to the Federal Register.

“The BoS apparently pulled the deposits that had just cleared from the Bank of Guam on Tuesday. That money was for [today’s] payroll. So, Friday’s payroll, which would normally come out on Friday, the BoS pulled on Tuesday. We confirmed that today (Thursday),” she said.

Mathis said that, when they found out about the situation at the BoS on Monday, they asked the bank to cancel the allotment and not accept it. She stressed that the CUC immediately tried to act on the matter “even before the bank opened on Tuesday.”

She said they also tried to stop the money from going into the BoS as a corporation—on behalf of the employees—but “that action didn’t work because the bank pulled it, meaning they took it from the Federal Reserve.”

The money amounts to a little over $15,000, Mathis added. When asked on what happens next, she said: “I don’t know.”

Villanueva said the CUC situation is separate, however, from the Executive Branch, as it is an autonomous agency with its own payroll system.

He said he does not anticipate any problem with the salaries of government employees, even with those that have direct deposit arrangement with the BoS, as this has already been stopped.

“It [payroll release] should not be a problem because the checks are written out of the Bank of Guam, where we have our accounts. As for anybody who is getting a direct deposit at the BoS, those have been stopped. So anybody who is supposed to get a direct deposit at the BoS this Friday will be getting a paycheck instead,” Villanueva said.

He related that when they found out about the BoS situation, they were able to address this issue before anything untoward happens, “so everybody in the Executive Branch will get paid. Instead of a direct deposit, they will get an actual check from the Treasury.”

The acting Finance Secretary said the government has deposits in the BoS, “but from the Treasury, we only have approximately $200,000 in there, so it’s not that significant. But we still want to get that deposit back, eventually.”

In the case of the PSS, Waldo wrote a letter to all school principals Wednesday to advise PSS employees that a computer malfunction is preventing the Bank of Guam from amending the payroll data that PSS sent them.

“They must allot or direct checks as the computer disk dictates. However, they figured a way around the system. All employees with direct deposit or allotment with the BoS must at this time open an account with the Bank of Guam to obtain their funds,” he said.

Waldo said these employees could then close their new Bank of Guam account with no fees if they wish to do so. Affected employees were told to go to any Bank of Guam branch Thursday to open their new account and sign their signature cards.

“Your money will be ready to withdraw on Friday if you have signed your signature cards and opened your account on Thursday,” he added.