Financial Institutions (NASDAQ: FISI) reported Q2 EPS of $0.67, $0.40 better than the analyst estimate of $0.27.

President and Chief Executive Officer Martin K. Birmingham stated, “In our new normal of working together yet apart, we have delivered uninterrupted critical banking services to our customers. We implemented an array of actions for consumers and businesses, helping 1,700 small businesses and 18,000 small business employees through the Small Business Administration Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”) and thousands of consumers through our COVID-19 CARES relief efforts. This was accomplished with 65 percent of our associates working from home or at remote sites.

“We could not have accomplished this without a dedicated workforce. I thank all our associates for their continued commitment to our company, our customers, our communities and each other. They have worked diligently to deliver quality care to our customers in a challenging environment — adapting to new working environments and demonstrating our organization’s ability to efficiently operate in a fast-changing world.

“To provide enhanced digital capabilities during a time when many customers are hesitant or unable to visit a branch, we moved forward with the launch of our new digital banking platform. Now more than ever, consumers and businesses need the ability to do their banking anywhere and anytime and have access to a comprehensive overview of their finances in one convenient location. Five Star Bank Digital Banking represents a major upgrade from the previous platform, leveraging the latest technology to provide new features and financial tools that significantly enhance the digital banking experience for businesses and individuals. This platform was successfully rolled out during the second quarter.

“We also developed a re-entry plan. Our approach will be unique to each of our offices to keep customers and associates safe, the Bank resilient, support the community and remain responsive to direction from New York State and the Centers for Disease Control. We have proven during the pandemic that we are flexible, can work remotely and have the resiliency and redundancy to maintain services, and we will continue all of this as we move forward. We fully expect and are committed to maintaining remote access for the foreseeable future, and that will result in a less dense workplace and flexibility should the situation turn negative again. We were thoughtful going in at the start of this pandemic and are being thoughtful as we proceed.

“I am pleased that we were able to deliver strong net income and pre-tax pre-provision income in the quarter, despite headwinds. Our diversified revenue contributed to this outcome, as well as our efforts in helping existing and new customers obtain nearly $270 million of PPP loans in the quarter. The stability of our markets is also a strength for us in these challenging times.

“We believe our loan loss reserves, combined with strong levels of capital and liquidity, position us well to continue to deliver services to our customers in these unprecedented times. However, much uncertainty remains because of COVID-19 and the future impact it may have on the economy. We will pay close attention to conditions across our markets, the United States and the global economy to address any deterioration promptly.”

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