WATCH: Real Talk with Central Pacific Bank’s Kyle K. Sakamoto, Senior Vice President and Division Manager

Central Pacific Bank Senior Vice President and division manager, Kyle K. Sakamoto sits down with Pacific Media Group COO and MauiNow director, Jack Dugan to answer questions regarding the financial hardships Maui residents and businesses are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sakamato said that Central Pacific Bank has worked to support its clients by communicating and understanding their changing needs during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have been trying to stay close and understand what their new needs are and what their long-term needs will be…Our staff has been working for the past 6-7 weeks, pretty much around the clock,” said Sakamoto.

Central Pacific Bank has been working to get Hawai’i’s share of the Small Business Administration (SBA) loan program that helps support small businesses. Sakamoto sees the program as an aid to supporting businesses keep their employees employed during the shutdown.

“The banks are there to help the businesses get the funding, and the businesses are there to transition a lot of that over to their employees…With the shutdown, a lot of businesses still haven’t been able to realize the true benefits of the program,” Sakamoto said.

Sakamoto sees structural changes to Hawai’i’s economy and expects a dire and challenging future as the coronavirus shutdown continues.

“I never expected it to be shutdown this way…I think it is gonna get a little bit tougher in a few months as things continue. Some people live paycheck to paycheck, businesses live paycheck to paycheck – some won’t survive – and we wanna we minimize that but that is the reality,” Sakamoto said.

Despite the negative outlook regarding the economy, Sakamoto believes in the entrepreneurial spirit of the Maui community and their ability to find new opportunities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are going to have a lot of success stories coming out of this. We are going to see smart people do some smart things. I am looking forward to seeing that,” Sakamoto said.

To learn more about the future of laid off employees, real estate and business loans, watch the video above.  For more information on Central Pacific Bank, visit their website here.