This is a trying time for Debbie Wood. While her husband, Danny, a member of the Army Reserve, is deployed overseas for military duty, she is assuming extra responsibilities to maintain the family’s household and watch over the couple’s six children but still keep a balance between home and career. Among those duties are overseeing her family’s financial affairs and balancing a tight budget supported by a soldier’s pay.

But some of the stress associated with her husband’s deployment is being alleviated by her bank, Bankers Trust Co., which is providing special programs for Iowa National Guardsmen and Reservists who are called to active duty. In addition to the measures mandated by the Soldiers and Sailors Civic Relief Act, Bankers Trust is going above and beyond the call of duty to help active military members meet their financial obligations.

Some of the products and services Bankers Trust is offering to active military personnel and their families at its nine branches are reducing the interest rates on residential real estate, home equity, automobile and credit card loans to 4 percent and deferring principal and interest for up to a year from deployment date; offering deposit accounts with no monthly maintenance fees for up to a year from deployment; and providing safe deposit boxes free of charge for up to a year from deployment.

Company officials felt meeting the federally required 6 percent cap on mortgage interest rates wasn’t much of a sacrifice given that market rates have been hovering around 5 percent.

“When we were going through the process to make sure we were complying with federal law, we thought we could do more than meet the minimum requirements,” said Paul Erickson, a senior vice president at Bankers Trust. “Six percent isn’t that big of a benefit these days. We wanted to do more.”

The Wood family is taking advantage of the bank’s offer to lower the interest rate on their checking reserve loan to 4 percent, and they have signed up for a free checking account. Wood said the discounted services provide relief and comfort.

“It takes a lot of financial worry off my mind,” she said. “It’s one less thing I have to worry about, and I know it helps my husband, because he knows there are people who understand the sacrifice that he is making.”

Ben Hildebrandt, spokesman for the Iowa Bankers Association, applauds Bankers Trust’s efforts.

“They have been a wonderful, proactive community-oriented institution,” he said. “They do a lot of impressive things for their customers.”

Hildebrandt said banks are often called upon to help people because they work so closely with townspeople.

“They know where the priority is,” he said. “Bankers are often the first people asked to support people in a time of need because they’re community-minded, caring people.”

Erickson hopes other banks will soon follow Bankers Trust’s lead. There are 435 charter banks in Iowa, 411 of which are members of the Iowa Bankers Association. He said once his peers learn Bankers Trust is going the extra mile, he thinks others will follow suit.

“Hopefully this will inspire other banks to adopt something with a little more meat to it,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”