Federal air traffic controller union members protest the partial U.S. federal government shutdown in a rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. January 10, 2019. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says he is perplexed about why hundreds of thousands of furloughed government employees who aren't receiving paychecks aren't going to their bank and taking out a personal loan. It turns out it's not that easy. The prolonged shutdown is about to deal another financial blow to government employees who are set to miss their second paycheck on Friday. Although many of the nation's top banks do have relief measures in place, not many offer personal loans with special conditions for furloughed workers. Many don't offer small personal loans as a product at all. "The 30 days of pay that people will be out — there's no real reason why they shouldn't be able to get a loan against it, and we've seen a number of ads from the financial institutions doing that," Ross said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup have tried to get ahead of the issue and contact customers they identified as federal employees via mail, email and social media to tell them of their relief options. However, most of these assistance programs are on a case-by-case basis that requires the customer to initiate the conversation via a phone call to a dedicated number. Bank of America, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo said if a customer takes advantage of any of these options the bank will not report it to the credit bureaus. Here's what the big four U.S. banks are offering to furloughed employees:

Bank of America

Bank of America doesn't offer personal loans as a product, so that isn't an option for furloughed workers. However, the bank has a dedicated client assistance hotline for government employees to call and receive various relief options the bank is offering. For example, for a credit card holder experiencing cash flow issues, one option could be to have the available credit amount deposited as cash into a checking account at a zero percent interest rate for up to six months. Another option the bank is offering is a zero percent interest rate on retail purchases made on a credit card for necessities such as groceries, gas or school supplies. In addition, Bank of America can defer payments on auto loans for up to two months and defer payments on mortgages and home equity loans for up to three months. Nearly two weeks ago, Bank of America sent emails to 260,000 customers they identified as being federal employees to urge them to call the dedicated assistance hotline. To date, more than 16,000 customers have called to seek temporary relief options. In recent days, the bank has seen a notable uptick in the volume of calls from furloughed workers, according to a Bank of America spokesman. (Hotline: 844-219-0690)

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo is one of the banks that does offer a personal loan as a product. However, as of right now, a zero-interest or low-interest personal loan is not one of the relief measures available to furloughed workers. In order to obtain a loan, they'll have to qualify like any normal applicant. The bank is working with affected customers in other ways, though. Currently, if a customer had a payroll check direct-deposited into a Wells Fargo account as of November 2018, the bank will automatically reverse the monthly service fee and any overdraft/nonsufficient funds fees on that account. Wells Fargo will also automatically reverse and waive late fees on credit accounts, including consumer and small business credit cards, auto loans, personal lines and loans, student loans, small business loans, home equity loans and home mortgages. For government workers having trouble making loan payments on mortgage, home equity or non-mortgage products, options include a 90-day short-term forbearance plan or a 30-day extension on the payment due date, depending on the product. These options are not provided automatically and are dealt with on a case-by-case basis after the customer calls Wells Fargo. According to a spokeswoman, about two weeks ago the bank sent out around 700,000 emails to customers they identified as being federal government employees. As of Jan. 22, Wells Fargo has provided payment assistance to more than 14,000 customers who called to request relief, she said. In addition, the bank has provided over $2.6 million in fee waivers. (Hotline: 800-219-9739)

JP Morgan Chase

J.P. Morgan Chase doesn't offer personal loans as a product, so that is not an option for furloughed government employees. However, any Chase customer affected by the shutdown — including government contractors and affected small business owners — could be eligible for some form of relief. Since Dec. 24, the bank has been automatically refunding overdraft and monthly service fees for any Chase checking and savings customer that the bank has identified as working for an affected federal agency. In addition, the bank is providing loan customers relief from late fees and working individually with customers who call the Chase special care line to speak with a specialist. J.P. Morgan has provided relief in some form to nearly 30,000 customers, which is a combination of those who called to request assistance and those identified by the bank as being federal employees, who automatically received relief. In the event of a prolonged shutdown, J.P. Morgan may make additional options available for eligible customers, according to a spokeswoman for the bank. (Hotline: 1-888-356-0023)

Citigroup

Citigroup, which provides travel cards for federal agencies, has also deployed a special Government Shutdown Assistance program for federal employees. This program includes waiving late fees for up to 10 days after the shutdown ends and preventing the suspension or cancellation of accounts. Citi cardholders who are in good standing may also qualify for refunds or waivers of late fees, interest charge waivers, credit line increases, as well as collection forbearance and settlement programs. The bank is also automatically refunding any monthly service or overdraft fees for customers who are federal employees with direct deposit accounts with the bank. (Hotlines: Citi Cards: 1-800-950-5114; Citibank: 1-888-248-4226; CitiMortgage: 1-877-211-3758)

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